First Kiss
by Lola-Gurl
Summary: Chapter 14 Up! Kagome, Sango and Rin have much in commen: All Sophmores at the same highschool, have their own problems and furthermore: Have never been kissed. What does high school have in store for the friends? R&R!
1. Same Old Kagome

First Kiss

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Wow that was easy. Cool. Authors Note: Just a few things to verify. Let's just say that in this fic (so you don't have to make assumptions) that Sesshoumaru is a Junior, Rin is a Sophomore, along with the rest of the cast. It took me a long time to  
decide, but I think Inuyasha's much more adorable with the silver/white hair rather than his human black, ne? By the way, this is a romance fic (if you didn't read the genre) Main couples being Inu/Kag Mir/San and Sess/Rin  
(sorry if you don't like them, it's my personal preference) Anyway, everything else is explained in the fic (let me know if it isn't) Please review, and enjoy! (FYI, this is my first Inuyasha fic so don't be cruel!)

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Chapter 1: New High School, New Kids, Same old Kagome

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"Kagome, you're going to be late! What are you doing in there!" Her mother yelled through the bathroom door. 15-year-old Kagome Higurashi stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was extremely sick of looking at the same old plain face all the time. Why couldn't she be more desirable? She sighed. She couldn't achieve that, even if she tried. Even though It was a new High School with New Kids, she was still the same old Kagome.  
"Coming mom," She sighed. It was the first day at the new high school, and Kagome could already tell it wasn't going to be fun. 'Why couldn't it just stay summer?' She asked herself. Kagome stepped out of the bathroom and her little brother, Souta, rushed passed her to get it.  
"Girls take so long," he said, closing the door with a snap. She scowled and went into the kitchen, were her grandfather was already eating breakfast.  
"Good morning Kagome," He smiled. "Good morning," She mumbled as she grabbed a plate. She wasn't in the mood for conversation. "You look tired," he said.

She nodded. "I didn't sleep well," She groaned. She had tossed and turned the previous night, and her muscles ached with discomfort.

After finishing her breakfast, she pleaded with Souta outside the bathroom. "Oh come on, I need to brush my teeth or I'll be late!" She yelled. He finally opened the door and walked out. She rolled her eyes and shut the door.

"Kagome!" Her mother yelled. "Are you going to keep Sango waiting?" She spit out her toothpaste.

"I'm Coming, Alright!" She sighed.

Goodbye summer.

Grabbing her sack lunch, she waved goodbye to her family members and headed out the door. The high school was only a few blocks away, along with Sango's house. Sango had been her friend since childhood. They had met on the playground one day while playing tag. Sango was the toughest of all of them, and even bested the boys. She and Kagome instantly became friends after that. She rang the doorbell, and Sango appeared, lively as ever.

"Hey," She smiled.

"Morning," Kagome said.

"Ready for this?" Sango asked her as they walked down the sidewalk. Kagome shook her head.

"Not really. I never thought the day would come," She answered truthfully. Sango laughed.

"Neither did I, but hey," She said.

"So, do you think some of the same kids'll be there?" Kagome asked. The past summer, the school board of the district, along with another district (which was unmistakably richer) decided to join together and integrate their high schools. According to the boards, both schools had very small classes for graduation, and costs were higher.

"I don't know," Sango answered. "I suppose they'll be the same kids we know. But we can always make new friends."

Kagome bit her lip. "The other district's kids are probably a ton smarter than us," She said, jamming her hands in her coat pockets."

"We'll never find out until we get there, come on!" The two girls took off running. The school was crowded with kids she didn't recognize, and some kids she did. Many voices were heard in the hallway.

"Hey, Niki, is that you?"

"I haven't seen you for ages!"

"Oh my gawd, is that who I think it is!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "They're getting a little carried away don't you think?" She asked Sango.

She nodded. "Yea, I'd sa-" She was interrupted when she heard a seductive whistling behind her. She whipped her head around, her dark brown hair almost hitting Kagome in the face. "Who was that?" She asked her.

Kagome shrugged.

"Oh well," Sango said, Do you think they were referring to us?"

Once again Kagome shrugged.

"I doubt it. There's so many kids..." And she was right. The halls were crowded with upperclassman, as well as freshman.

Taking out her schedule, Kagome looked at it intently. "Ok, let's see, I've got locker number B189. This new high school they built is so hard to get around."

"Yea, I've got B190 or something like that. I don't have it memorized," Sango answered.

"Now if I can just find them on the map," She turned the sheet over to the side with the map of the school and stared at it. She was staring at it so closely she didn't notice when she bumped into somebody.

"Sorry," She muttered, not bother to look up.

"You should be. To be stupid enough not to look were your going," a voice said. She looked up to see a boy standing there, looking slightly displeased. He quite a handsome face, if it were not twisted in displeasure. His silver bangs covered his amber colored eyes.

"Excuse me, but I don't think you should make such a big deal over it. She didn't do it on purpose," Sango said, annoyed slightly, sticking up for Kagome.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Girls are stupid anyway," He walked off.

"What an ass," Kagome muttered.

"You're telling me. Who does he think he is?" Sango shook her head. "You can tell he's gonna be a trouble, not just for us. There's guys like them in every school."

Kagome nodded. "Hey look, it's our lockers!" She grinned. She opened it and put her schoolbag inside. Sango did the same. "What class do you have first?" Kagome asked her.

Sango rummaged through her bag and found her schedule. "Math."

"Me too! That's great, I'll need some help when it comes to math. It's my worst subject," She said. Sango was always good at Math.

The noise around them didn't cease, so the girls had to talk fairly loud in order to hear each other. They grabbed their things and ran off to find the math room. They reached the room with minutes to spare. Some students were already in the room, chatting noisily with friends. Kagome and Sango sat down in desks near the middle of the room, right beside each other. 'This might not be so bad,' Kagome thought lightly. 'At least I have Sango, otherwise things would be horrible'. Suddenly the bell rang.

"Please take a seat while I take role call. My name is Mr. Tonasumo," he said. Kagome looked around the room at her fellow classmates. There weren't many she recognized, only a few she didn't commonly associate herself with. Then she groaned, the guy she had bumped into earlier, that had spoken to her so rudely, sat in the back of the room.

"Oh no, he's here," She hissed at Sango.

"Who?" Sango whispered.

"Him. The guy we ran into before," She jerked her head towards the back of the room, where Sango directed her attention.

"Oh, I see him. It might not be so bad, he could have just been angry that you bumped into him." She shrugged.

"Alright," The teacher said. "Please stand up, I have already arranged a seating chart for you." The students groaned. She looked at Sango with a disappointed face.

'Wonderful. Knowing my luck, Sango will be across the room from me' Kagome thought. And she was right. She was placed on the complete opposite side.

"Kagome, and Inuyasha, these to seats right here," the teacher finished reading his list.

'Inuyasha. So that's the jerk's name...' she scowled and sat down in front of him. He looked quite uncomfortable sitting behind her.

"Now, let us begin. In this class, you will learn the basics of algebra. We will start with Standard Deviation." The class groaned again. 'Oh how I hate standard deviation,' Kagome moaned mentally. She suddenly felt a sharp poke in her back.

Then another. And another.

She turned to see Inuyasha looking away innocently, holding his sharpened pencil.

"What?" he asked. She whipped around, only to be poked again. She turned to see him with a bored expression on his face, poking her with his pencil again.

"Will you stop that?" She asked.

"What am I doing?" he asked in an innocent tone, continuing to poke her.

"Stop now," She hissed. He poked her again. "Knock it off!" She said, a little to loud.

"Miss Higurashi, is there a problem?" Mr. Tonasumo asked, setting down his chalk, his stern eyes drilling into her. She blushed slightly as every head turned to look at her.

"N-no," She mumbled, embarrassed.

"Good," he said, then continued his droning.

Kagome shot Inuyasha a dirty look. She had barely known him for five minutes and he was already causing her trouble. Inuyasha never did stop poking her. She got so annoyed with it that she turned around and smacked him over the head with her binder, which resulted in a trip to the office.

"Great, just great," She mumbled as she sat down. She stayed there for the remainder of the hour, until she got a verbal warning from the principal, stating if it happened again, she'd be in for a few detentions.

She left the office mumbling curses under her breath. 'Stupid Inuyasha. Who the hell does he think he is anyway!' she wondered. 'he's not king of the world.' Sango rushed up to her.

"Oh Kagome, are you alright? After you left, that guy, Inuyasha started making fun of you. I would have told him off but the teacher was pretty much done yelling with him anyway." Kagome gave a small laugh.

"Why do I get the feeling he's going to make our lives miserable?"

"Because I'm going to," Came a voice behind her.

She groaned and turned around. "What's your problem anyway?" She asked, angry at Inuyasha's very presence. He gave a small laugh.

"You moron. You're my problem. You get on my nerves, and therefore, I dislike you." With that he left. Kagome shot up her middle finger.

"Bastard," She spat.

"Calm down, Kagome, it'll be fine. He's just trying to get under your skin," Sango said, soothingly. 'And he's doing a pretty good job,' she thought.

The rest of the day passed quickly, seeing that Sango and Kagome were spared in having Inuyasha in any more of their classes. Well, that is until 6th hour.

"Oh god," Kagome said, smacking her head. The last thing she wanted was to have Inuyasha in her physical education class.

"What's wrong?" Sango asked. Kagome pointed.

"Oh." Was Sango's reply. Inuyasha stood with a few of his friends laughing and talking. One of them, a fairly tall boy with short black hair looked their way and winked.

"Who's that?" Sango asked. Kagome shrugged.

"Never seen him before."

"Me neither," Sango replied. He suddenly popped up behind them.

"Well that's a shame ladies. I'm surprised you don't know my name, after all, by tomorrow, every girl in this school is going to be saying it." He shot both of them a flashy grin. "My name's Miroku. Now, would you two gorgeous ladies do me the honor of beari-" He was interrupted when Inuyasha yelled,

"Hey Miroku, get your ass over here!" He looked discouraged, but then turned back to Kagome and Sango.

"I'll see you to beauties later," he smiled and walked back over to Inuyasha.

"Well...that was weird," Kagome said. Sango nodded, cheeks slightly pink.

"I've never had a guy hit on me quite like THAT before," She admitted. Kagome nodded.

"Ditto." The bell rang, and the teacher instructed them to change into their clothes. Kagome felt hesitant, but went into the locker room and changed. "I hate gym," She muttered, staring at her figure in the mirror. She looked so skinny and frail; which was one of the reasons she hated physical education to begin with.

They excited the locker room and sat down on the gym floor while the teacher gave instructions. The class period was basically testing their endurance running, along with their sprinting. First, they were to run 10 laps around the gym, giving them a time limit of 15 minutes.

"Ready, go!" The teacher called, blowing her whistle. The girls jogged, Sango a bit quicker than Kagome.

"C'mon Kag, keep up!" She called. Kagome sped a bit faster. Suddenly, a blur sped past them. "What was that?" Sango asked, whipping her head around.

"I don't know," Kagome answered, equally confused.

Inuyasha had just sped past them; after all, he was the fastest runner in middle school, why not high school as well? He'd always had a special knack for running, along with many other sports.

"I'm very impressed with you," the gym teacher said fondly after he had finished. He grinned: PE was so easy. It was enjoyable enough, besides the many groups of girls whispering, giggling and batting their eyelashes at him. Yet he seemed to drink it in and enjoy it. Kagome just shook her head. He was so egotistical.

After the unpleasant experience (in which Inuyasha had commented at least 15 times about how weak the girls were) Kagome and Sango headed of to their 7th hour class, English.

"Right at the end of day. What a great time to relax," Kagome said. English had always been her favorite class.

"I wonder if we'll do poetry," Sango said dreamily. Kagome laughed.

"You've always liked it, haven't you?"

Sango nodded. "Yup." The two girls entered the classroom, only to be discouraged with the site of both Inuyasha and Miroku.

"Oh no," Kagome groaned.

Miroku saw them and his eyes brightened. "Oh, ladies, I was hoping to see you again! Now where did we leave off," He said slyly, his hand reaching for Sango's lower back.

She didn't seem to notice, until Kagome hissed, "Don't you dare." He shot her a 'don't blow my cover' look, but by the blush on Sango's face, it was already well known. He blushed as well, scowled slightly and zipped back over to Inuyasha. "What a Hentai," Kagome muttered. "Sango?" Her blush had not yet faded.

"He almost grabbed my ass," She said in disbelief.

"Everyone please find a seat, you may sit where ever you'd like," The teacher said. Kagome and Sango grinned. This would be better. The two sat near the middle, making sure they were nowhere near Inuyasha nor Miroku. "Welcome to 10th grade English. I'm your teacher Ms. Aiosun." (A/N: Sound familiar? Inside Joke) "Please stay quiet until I'm finished with attendance." She was done in a flash, then said, "In this class, you will deal with Literature as well as Writing. As far as literature goes, we will read novels from Classics to Modern. You will endure many different styles of writing. Editorials, Journalism, Biographies and Autobiographies, Debate, Story Writing, and," She looked directly at an eager Sango. "Poetry." Sango smiled in relief. Kagome almost laughed.

The class period went on, in which time they did basic formwork, basic information about them, and then introduced them to the class. Kagome first days like that; the got off so easily. "I can tell I'm gonna like this class," She whispered to Sango. Sango nodded in agreement.

"We're doing poetry," She giggled.

"What is it with you and poetry?" Kagome shook her head. Sango shrugged.

"I dunno, I just like it a lot. It suits me, you know?" Kagome nodded in reply.

"Girls, you shouldn't talk in class," Ms. Aiosun said sternly. The girls gulped. She smiled. "But, since you're conversation is about this class, and it's many subjects, I'm not going to think anything of it." She squeezed Sango's shoulder, than Kagome's. They could both tell they were really going to like this class. Inuyasha on the other hand, wasn't so certain. 'I hate English. All of it. Reading, Writing, blah. Although Debate might be fun. There's nothing wrong with yelling at people...'.

The bell rang, and the students eagerly packed up to go home. "The day went fast," Kagome said. Sango nodded in agreement.

"I noticed. Well, most of it did anyway."

"Yea, except when Inuyasha was in our classes. And...what's his name. Miroku or whatever."

Sango scowled. "I don't even want to hear his name. How dare he try to touch me."

"Well, he's a lech if you haven't noticed," Kagome said.

"How could I not notice? I'll be glad every moment he isn't in my presence." She said. The two girls walked out of the building and into the sunshine happily. It felt good on their faces, seeing that barely any of the teachers opened the window for the sunlight to come in. All part of the 'high school hell' effect. Kagome waved goodbye to Sango as she got to her house.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" She called as she walked away.

Her mind wandered back to Inuyasha. What was his problem anyway? "I swear, if I have to put up with Inuyasha's annoying behavior the next few years, I'll die," She said aloud.

"Then die."

She felt a pit in her stomach, and turned around. "I'd rather not," She spat, getting annoyed at his very presence.

"Oh, what's wrong Kagome? Can't take my personality. Deal with it." He walked past her. She was confused. Inuyasha didn't live in her neighborhood.

"What are you doing over here anyway? I thought you lived over by where the old Shinikwa district was. After all, you went there before," She said, pestering him. He looked back at her, peeved.

"Can't a guy take a walk?"

She scowled. "Well than go take a walk someplace else. I wanna walk home in peace."

"Then walk home in peace. Nobody's stopping you." He said curtly. She walked faster ahead of him and made a dash for her house, slamming the door. 'So that's where you live. I'll remember that,' he thought to himself, smirking. If there was ever a night when he and Miroku were bored (which is hard to believe) they'd know who's house to toilet paper.

Kagome's mother smiled. "How was your day?" She shrugged.

"Same old same old. Just like the old high school," She lied.

Her mother sighed. "Well, that's nice to hear. Souta should be home from school shortly. I have to stop by the grocery store, will you make sure he gets right on his homework?" She nodded. Her mother smiled. "I can always count on you," She said as she kissed her daughter's forehead.

Kagome went into her bedroom and collapsed on her bed. She stared at the ceiling, where she had a poster of her favorite band. "I wanna get out of this high school. It'd be so much easier to have a tutor." She said, thinking about how fame would lighten, or eliminate the weight of getting into a good college. "I'd be worth it," she sighed. She closed her eyes and dazed into a nap, releasing her childish hopes and wishes into dream.

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Lola-Gurl//throws cotton scarf over shoulder dramatically/ And that's the end of THAT chapter!

Lupine-Eyes: You know, Matt Groening is gonna sue you for that.

Lola-Gurl: shrugs I don't ca- /gets handed a lawsuit/ Oh well. As long as I get enough reviews, I'll be happy.

Lupine-Eyes: Oh yes, that's right. Review her story so she doesn't have to complain at school tomorrow! It's more torturesome than Spectra16 talking about her Tom!

Lola-gurl//takes out mallet/ Take it back!

Spectra16: Ok, I'm talking Lola's side. Take it back, or you get it.

Lupine-eyes/ gulp/ Well, gotta go, but remember to review! Oh yea? And no flames, k? Thankies//Disappears in a cloud of smoke/

Lola-Gurl: Dang, she always does that. I've gotta figure that out...


	2. This Means War

First Kiss Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own Inuyasha. (TT) But I do own a blueberry muffin! Oh wait, don't own that either. Darn. (Gomen, I have a craving for a muffin)

Authors note: Well, if you're reading this, I take it you liked it enough  
to keep reading (That makes me happy) Rin gets introduced this chapter! I'll explain her situation. Since Rin's parents are dead, she lives with  
her uncle, who happens to be abusive. Just physical and emotional, no sexual abuse in this fic thank you very much. I don't' feel at liberty to write anything like that, just too depressing for my liking. (By the way, if you're being abused, get help! You're not being fair to yourself! Sorry,  
I just needed to mention that, for all you who think I'm a loser. Just lookin' out for others ) Well, please remember to review and NO FLAMES!  
Enjoy!

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Chapter 2: This Means War

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Kagome was woken up by Souta shortly before Dinner was served. The family sat at the table, happily gossiping about their days.

"I made a new friend," Souta said excited. "He just moved here from Odiba. He's cool," he grinned at Kagome who didn't seem to listen.

"Did you make any new friends?" She shook her head. She didn't dare tell her family about Inuyasha either.

"No, not really. It was just pretty much Sango and I the whole day. We met new people, but nobody I could consider friends." She thought about Inuyasha and Miroku, and frowned. They were both gong to cause a lot of trouble; she could feel it.

Her mother talked about her day at work, and Kagome tuned out. She thought about what the rest of the year would be like, and how she and Sango could ever really survive high school. 'Maybe I'll get my first real boyfriend,' she thought. It was true; Kagome had never had what she could consider a real boyfriend. Sure, boys had walked her home, and she had played with them during elementary school, but she had never been out on an actual date. She had also never been kissed.

She felt her cheeks tinge from thinking about it. 'Me with a boyfriend? That's a laugh,' she thought to herself. She knew she wished it so, that maybe, just maybe, the guy she'd been waiting for would come and sweep her off her feet and take her far away to a beautiful setting, where they'd stare into each others eyes and-

"Kagome are you listening it me?" Her grandfather said.

She turned to him, face pink. "N- no," She stuttered. "Sorry." He sighed.

"As I was saying, you'll do this family proud in high school: I'm sure you'll succeed. If only your father..." He stopped and bowed his head in honor.

"Let's not mention that now," Her mother said, patting his shoulder. "We know that he would have loved to see this, but he's gone and there's nothing we can do but remember him." Kagome hated to see her mother that way, in a trance, remembering her father.

"Hey mom, may I please be excused? I have to finish my homework." Her mother looked up and nodded.

"Yes dear, please do."

She didn't really have much homework, but she wanted to escape the kitchen. Her stomach always seemed to twist uncomfortably into knots whenever her father was mentioned. She hated to see her mother mourn, after all, she was 12 when he died, and she could still remember her weeping over her father's open casket. She shook the feelings. "Homework, homework," She said, opening her school bag. She took what she had out and started on it. "Welcome back to high school, Kagome," She said to herself.

The next morning she hurried off to school as it began the same way it had previously. 'Is this going to go on for the next few years? Start the same way, end the same way in a unceasing circle? I could get tired of this,' she thought wearily.

* * *

"Don't you talk to me like that!" He yelled as he slapped her across the face. The girl said nothing at first, but eventually muttered a small 'gomen' and rushed into the bathroom. She examined the mark he had left on her cheek. It stung painfully as she covered it up with a small amount of makeup. Despite the warmer weather, she wore her long sleeved uniform to cover all the bruises she had up and down her arms from her constant beatings. She felt grateful that he almost never hurt her legs, for she would have no way to cover those bruises. She looked at her face in the mirror. Bags hung under her deep brown, almost black eyes. Her brown hair hung down to her shoulders. She put part of it in a half pony, leaving just enough to cover the bruise on the nape of her neck.

"Get a hold of yourself Rin," She said softly, taking in deep breaths to control the tears. "He can't get to us. No, he can't." 'He can hit me all he wants, I'm going to stay strong.' Her stomach churned over and over uneasily. She sighed. 'There's no use trying to deny. I've gotta get out of here. But...how?' She shook her head. It was impossible. Her parents were dead, who else was she to live with? Her uncle was so cruel to her, but he was all she had. She left the house without another word. She briskly ran as far as she could, as if to imagine she were leaving forever.

* * *

"Hey Sango!" Kagome yelled. Sango smiled.

"Good morning to you! How ya feelin'?" She looked in a surprisingly good mood. "I got Mushu for lunch," She explained happily. Kagome nodded. Sango could be happy over the smallest things. "Mom barely buys that stuff. I'm usually left with sandwiches." The two girls laughed.

Suddenly, Kagome was knocked to the ground, falling promptly on the grass. She looked over, where a girl had landed on the sidewalk.

"I'm sorry," she said, earnestly.

"Don't bother apologizing, it's no big deal," Kagome said, picking herself up, then offering her had to the girl. "I'm Kagome," She smiled.

"I'm Rin. It's very nice to meet you. I'm afraid I was absent yesterday. You do go to Arukani?" Both Sango and Kagome nodded. "Great. I was a little worried that since I'd missed yesterday I'd be way behind."

"Nah, not really. We did introductory stuff to everything. I'm Sango by the way." She smiled at Sango, who smiled back.

"Tell me Rin, were you sick yesterday?" Rin quickly took this cover story. "Yea. I had a fever and my uncle thought it best I stay home."

This wasn't completely true. Basically, she had been hurt so badly, the bruises were tender and easily seeable, so her uncle advised, well more like threatened, her to stay home.

"Well, it's great your feeling better," the three girls walked into the school, happily chatting.

"Just watch out for Inuyasha. He's a real jerk." Kagome told her.

"Oh, and Miroku. He's most guaranteed to treat you in a sexual manner," Sango warned.

"I know them," Rin said. "I used to live near them. But, after my parents died, I moved to the other side of town, to stay with my uncle."

"Oh, so you know. Good. It's best to watch out for them both. They've got a habit of b-" Kagome was interrupted when Inuyasha shoved past her rudely, bumping her shoulder.

"Being complete Assholes." She finished, clenching her firsts.

"Don't worry about it. He's trying to piss you off, remember?" Sango said soothingly. Suddenly she turned bright red, as her lower back had been open to Miroku's fancy. She turned around and slapped him hard, leaving a nice red handprint across his face. Both Kagome and Rin found it hard not to laugh.

Without a word, Miroku walked away.

"You got him that time. I'd like to see him to it again after that," Kagome grinned.

"I feel so violated," Sango said uncomfortably.

"Come on, we should help Rin find her locker," Kagome said, grabbing her hand. "Do you have a schedule?" Rin nodded and took it out.

"I'm at locker...B180."

"Cool, you're real close to the rest of us!" Sango exclaimed, completely forgetting all about being harassed by the lecherous Miroku.

"Hey Rin, can I talk a look at what classes you have? Hopefully, you'll be in a few with me and Sango," Kagome said. Rin nodded and handed her schedule to Kagome. "Whoa, no way! We have practically the same schedule. Except for English, I have that 8th hour, and you have it 5th. That's when I have Social Studies. Sango has Science. Well, other than that, our classes are pretty much the same." Rin grinned. This was wonderful: She had made two wonderful new friends. Maybe things wouldn't' be so bad after all.

"Come on. Math's next." The three girls happily chatted their way to the classroom. Rin was placed in a seat near Sango. This discouraged Kagome a bit , knowing that she would probably be bugged once again by Inuyasha. 'I can't let him get to me,' she thought. 'Maybe if I completely ignore him...forget he's even there, he'll stop. What does he have against me anyway?' The bell rang, and class began.

Luckily for Kagome, they were starting a project, in which they were allowed to pick their two partners. Kagome turned towards Sango and Rin and made eye contact. The girls nodded. "This is great. I'm glad we get to choose our own partners. Otherwise I'd be miserable. I'm SO bad at math," Kagome said.

Rin shrugged. "I'm okay at Math, I guess, just not as good as some people."

"Don't worry guys. This projects in the bag. Algebra's easy," Sango said reassuringly. Kagome laughed.

"Easy for you to say, you a math wiz."

The minutes passed fast as they planned their project out. "Please return to your seats before the bell rings," the teacher instructed. Kagome got up and walked across the room. She noticed Inuyasha was staring intently at her. She glared at him, and sat down. She heard a snicker behind her.

"What? What's so funny, Inuyasha?" She asked annoyed, turning her head around. Inuyasha's face was slightly red, and look as if he was trying to hold in a fit of laughter. That alone, made Kagome uneasy. What was he planning to do?

The bell rang and everyone stood up and left. Well, that is, except for Kagome. She was having a problem getting up. She was stuck to her desk. "Um, Mr. Tonasumo, I'm stuck to my desk," She said lamely.

Some of her fellow classmates stopped to turn around.

"She's stuck!"

"Somebody probably put glue on her chair!"

"Ha ha, what a loser."

Laughter erupted from the group of students. Kagome now understood why Inuyasha was trying so hard not to laugh. She knew for a fact he was the culprit. She narrowed her eyes, giving her quite a scary appearance. 'I'm going to make you pay for this Inuyasha,' she thought, clenching her fists. "It's glue," She whined, trying (and failing) to get out of her seat.

Suddenly an obnoxious laughter was heard as Inuyasha could no longer stand the hilarity. "Ha, what a loser, you actually fell for it! Now you've got your ass glued to the seat! It's to funny!"

Kagome felt her temper flare. "Inuyasha, you jerk!" She yelled. Well, what happened next is a good news bad news thing. The good news is Kagome successfully got out of her seat. The bad news is, well, she created an extremely large rip in her skirt. "Oh god, this isn't happening," She whispered. Luckily Sango and Rin huddled against her and led her to the bathroom. The moment she disappeared the rest of the student body who had witnessed it broke into fits of hysterics.

Miroku made a tsking noise at Inuyasha. "You shouldn't have done that you know, she's gonna want revenge." He jerked his head towards the bathroom, then turned back to Inuyasha. "Knowing her."

He shrugged. "It was worth it. God that was hilarious!" He laughed again, leaning against the wall, his sides aching. He hardly noticed that Miroku had walked away shaking his head. "Hey, Miroku, wait up!"

* * *

"I'm going to KILL him!" Kagome shrieked from inside the bathroom stall. "I'll kill him, I swear I will."

Rin shoved an extra skirt underneath the stall door. "I must admit, that was pretty mean?"

"I know! What has he got against me anyway? All I did was bump into the jerk on the first day of school! Jeez!"

Kagome continued ranting, but neither Rin or Sango really paid attention. "Do you think this is going to pass?" Rin whispered.

Sango shrugged. "Depends which one budges first," she commented.

Kagome came out of the stall, her ripped skirt in her clenched fists. "We're going to get back at him," She said in a deadly whisper.

"Whoa, WE? Who said anything about WE? I don't want to be getting into trouble the first week of school, Kagome."

Kagome looked at her friends with pleading eyes. "Come on guys. It's a matter of pride. I don't care if he's popular, or if other girls think he's cute. That doesn't matter! I want to make him pay!"

A deep fire of hatred burned in Kagome's eyes, and Sango knew it was best not to argue with her friend when that happened. "Alright, fine. I'll help. Rin, you in?"

She shrugged. "Guess so."

"Good. Now all we need is a plan," Kagome grinned. Suddenly the bell rang.

"Oh shit, we're late for class!" The three exclaimed rushing out of the bathroom.

* * *

"Inuyasha!"

He groaned, and reluctantly turned around. "What is it?" He grumbled. The girl frowned slightly.

"Aww, fine, if you don't want to talk to me. I'll just go away," Kikyo pouted. Inuyasha looked up at to the sky and mouthed the words 'thank you'. Kikyo made a face.

"I wasn't being serious. Come on Inu, walk me to my next class!" She whined, grabbing his arm. He seized it from her.

"Kikyo, I told you! We're not going out anymore! We broke up middle of last year, so stop following me around like a puppy!" (A/N: he he he) She pursed her lips into a pout.

"Don't be such a meanie!" She scoffed and walked away.

"She's so annoying," He muttered as he ran off to find Miroku.

* * *

"Rin, come sit next to us!" Kagome said smiling.

Rin nodded and sat down next to them. "So where are Inuyasha and Miroku sitting?" She asked. Sango jerked her head, motioning a nearby table.

"There. But Kagome refuses to look at them." It was true. Kagome said with her back completely facing them.

"They're not going to receive any attention from me, whatsoever," She said matter-of-factly. Suddenly an idea popped into her head as she quickly searched her lunch. "Hey Sango, can I have your granola bar?" She asked.

"But I thought you didn't like organic. Especially Soy," She said confused. Kagome took this as a yes and grabbed it.

"Hey, it's hard. What is this, last year's?" She asked.

Sango shook her head. "Its dried granola. It's not chewy."

Kagome grinned. "Excellent."

"Will somebody tell me exactly why we're talking about granola bars again?" Rin asked confused.

Kagome made sure nobody was looking, then quickly threw the granola bar as hard as she could, sending it straight for the back of Inuyasha's head. Bulls eye. Inuyasha stopped eating as he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. He reached his hand back to feel it; a small tender bump had formed on the spot where the object had collided with his head. He turned and looked around for the 'weapon'. He spotted the granola bar on the floor and picked it up. "What the hell? They threw a granola bar?" He asked himself quietly.

He looked around for possible suspects. Not Kikyo. If she wanted to date him again, she wouldn't go around throwing granola bars at him. It wasn't Sesshoumaru, god, his grade wasn't even eating lunch at this point of the hour. His eyes fell on the culprit.

"Higurashi," he said aloud. Miroku perked his head up.

"What about her?" He asked.

"She hit me with a god damn granola bar!" He retort.

Miroku quirked an eyebrow. "Okay..."

"I'm gonna go over there and let her have it!" He exclaimed, standing up.

"Hey, did you eat the granola bar?" Sango asked.

Kagome gave her an childlike look. "Not exactly," she said, tracing circles on the table with her finger ever so innocently.

"Kagome, what did you do with it?" She asked.

"I um..."

"She threw it at me." A voice said from behind her. She turned around, expecting the worst. She expected right.

"Hey, Inuyasha, how's it hanging?" She said, laughing nervously.

"You're not funny," he replied, thrusting the granola bar in her hands.

"Kagome you contaminated my granola bar!" Sango said, grabbing it from her. Inuyasha shot her a glare.

"You know I'm gonna get back at you for doing that to me!" Kagome hissed.

"Oh really?" He snickered.

"Yea, I am!" She suddenly stood up, causing quite a commotion.

"THIS MEANS WAR!" The two yelled, turning their backs towards the other.

"I'm going to make that ass wish he never stepped foot in this school!" She pounded her fist on the table.

"I'm going to make sure she doesn't forget exactly who I am!" Inuyasha seethed.

"Now calm down Inuyasha, it's going to be fine," Miroku assured him.

"Oh go away. I have to do some thinking. Or should I say planning," He rubbed his hands together mischievously. With that he walked off in the opposite direction. Miroku sighed. Exactly what was his friend getting himself into?

* * *

LolaGurl: So, how'd you like it? Was it good? I hope it lived up to expectations. In truth, the granola things happened. I was ticked at a guy friend of mine (he was ignoring us at the time, and being extremely annoying) so my friend gave me a granola bar (soy, by the way) and I threw it at his back. He didn't really notice though. But it was fun laughing our Asses off when he felt his back and looked around for whatever he was hit with. Paris-rose: Uh huh, whatever. Shut up, we don't want to hear it.

Lola-Gurl: Be quiet and do the message!

Paris-rose: But I don't want-

Lola-Gurl/threatens with the torture of CLP/

Paris-rose: NOOO! Don't hurt my Pyro! Fine, I'll do it! Lola-Gurl thanks you for all your support and to PLEASE review!

Lola-Gurl: Much better /hands CLP over safely/

CLP: DUCHIES!

Paris-rose: Uh, he's not allowed to do that in your fics, only mine.

Lola-Gurl: Shut up. Fine. TMM, take it.

TMM: Thank you! Arigatou! Gracias! Merci! Ringraziarlo! Mange takk! Danke ! Obrigado!  
Lola-Gurl: Ok, I think they get the point!

TMM: Fine. TT

Lola-Gurl: And remember, no flaming permitted!


	3. The Debate

Lola: Hello once again! It's time for **Drum Roll** THE DISCLAIMER!

TMM: Lola doesn't own Inuyasha or any of it's characters! She doesn't even own a decent pair of shoes.

Lola: Feh, got that right. My parents are too cheap to buy me Chuckies. TT err...but anyway, please enjoy and don't forget to review! (oh yes, and my new saying: If you like it, review and tell your friends! If you don't, keep your damn mouth shut!)

* * *

Chapter 3: The Debate

* * *

"Kagome, he's going to find a way to get you for that," Rin commented. "What, the granola bar? Oh come on! That was lame, I wasn't even trying to be funny. He's pathetic if he's making that big of a deal out of it. I can do MUCH worse," She said, a malevolent smirk upon her face. Sango winced slightly. When she made that face, it wasn't good. "Just what exactly are you planning?" She asked. Kagome's smirk grew wider. "Oh, nothing for now. That is, unless he decides to get back at me. But I don't suggest that." Sango shot Rin a you've-got-to-love-her-even-if-she's-psycho look (A/N: Is there even such a look?) Rin nodded in reply. This was going to get dangerous.

* * *

Inuyasha walked down the hallway, still pondering what he was going to do to Kagome next. A grinned evilly at the thought of a helpless Kagome, embarrassed and humiliated in front of the entire school. 'She'd deserve every second of it. That wench is asking for it, with her stupid attitude and goody two shoes act, AGH!' He clenched his fists and didn't notice when he happened to shove past a very familiar person.

"You might want to watch where your going, mutt," they answered coldly, golden eyes gleaming down apathetically.

"Watch it Sesshoumaru," He scowled, looking at his brother.

"Just cuz' you're a year older than me doesn't mean you rule this school just yet. You're not a Senior." He grinned; He knew one of Sesshoumaru pet peeves was not having enough power to control everyone.

"At least I'm not Sophomore filth like you," he said dryly, rolling his eyes in disgust.

"Ass hole."

"Moron."

"Stuck up Bastard."

"Dirty Low Life."

By now, our dear Inuyasha was about ready to lose it. A small crowed had started to gather, watching in hushed awe. "Say it again, half brother or not, I'll kick your ass."

Sesshoumaru stared at him emotionlessly, and answered, "Poor Inuyasha, you don't think I was insulting your mother, did you? Rest assured, there's nothing left to say. Except that she was filth too." That was it. Inuyasha shoved Sesshoumaru hard in the shoulders, forcing him backwards into a wall.

"Take it back," he said. Sesshoumaru gave him a cruel smile. It was enough to throw Inuyasha off for a second, giving Sesshoumaru enough time to lunge forward and sock him in the stomach.

"No," He answered simply.

Inuyasha doubled over onto the ground, clutching his stomach. 'Damn that fucking bastard! He punches hard!' He thought in blinding pain.

"What is going on here!" Mr. Seinou, their principal, asked running up. "Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, I thought better of you! Being brothers and all! In my office, Immediately!" Sesshoumaru scowled and walked passed Inuyasha. Struggling to get up, Inuyasha wobbled a bit, but finally made his way to the office, glaring at the principal on his way.

* * *

"So what class-" Rin was cut of, at the sound of yelling. "What's going on?" She asked Sango and Kagome. The two shrugged. They made their way around the corner, where the commotion was coming from.

"Ass Hole."

Kagome recognized Inuyasha's voice immediately. She didn't, however, recognize who he was talking to. She...or was it a he? Well, in any case THEY were a little less than a foot taller than Inuyasha, with the same silvery- white hair. It didn't take much to realize they were related. The insults continued until the first punch was fired. After that, it was chaos.

"They're fighting," Sango said, amazed. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Idiot. Let's go, I don't feel like watching this," She dragged Sango and Rin off in the other direction, disgusted. 'Inuyasha, you moron! What kind of trouble are you trying to get into?' She thought. Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks. 'Why should I care?' She asked herself.

* * *

"Suspended?" Kagome asked in awe. It was 7th hour. Miroku nodded.

"Yea. Both he and Sesshoumaru got suspended for two whole weeks." By the look on Kagome's face, you would have guessed Christmas was coming early.

"That's great! It's wonderful! It's...too good to be true!" She said happily. The group sweat dropped.

"What's so bad about Inu that you can't get along with him?" Miroku asked.

"Well, let's see, 1: He's annoying, 2: He's conceded and thinks he's the hottest guy in our school, which he's not. 3: He's violent, no explanation needed, 4: He's rude 5: He hates me already, after I'd done absolutely nothing 6-"

"Okay, Okay, I get the point. So you hate his guts. But he's a nice guy, once you get to know him."

Kagome forced out a laugh. "You're funny Miroku. That's a good one." Miroku shook his head and walked away (well, not before grabbing Sango's butt, I might add). "Why do you think he does that?" Kagome asked. Sango shrugged, still angry.

"I don't know, but I wish he'd stop!"

"I think he likes you," Kagome said, before regretting it immediately. Sango looked furious with the idea, and it was almost scary to look at her.

"Uh, forget I ever brought it up." The bell suddenly rang, and everyone rushed out of the classroom, glad the day was over.

Kagome, Rin and Sango chatted happily on the walk home.

"Hey Rin, can you show us your house?" Sango asked. Rin drew a blank. 'Oh no, I can't let them come over to my house...he'd flip. I've got to come up with an excuse...and fast'.

"I would, except that my Uncle doesn't like it when I have friends over when he isn't home, so I'd have to ask him and all that. Plus, He won't be until 8:00 tonight," She quickly lied, mentally patting herself on the back.

"Oh," Kagome said, a bit disappointed, "Alright."

"Well, I have to go. Homework you know," Rin said, taking off in the other direction.

"Ok, bye Rin!" The two waved goodbye, and parted soon after.

* * *

Inuyasha sat at the dinner table, opposite of his father, his older brother sitting across from his mother, who sat next to Inuyasha. Everyone in the family had a sour scowl on their face. 'This sucks. I'd do anything to get out of this situation.' He thought desperately. He played with his peas, moving them around the plate to make funny shapes. 'Maybe I should just get up and leave.' He decided to take the chance, and stood up from the table.

"Sit down right now, young man, you're not done just yet!" His mother pointed to his chair, which he reluctantly sat down in. He was in deep shit now. His father looked at both him and his older brother sternly. "We need to have a talk," he said, glaring. Though it gave him the creeps, Inuyasha tried to remain looking calm.

"Yea, well? Talk." Even though he disliked that tone, their father continued,

"I don't know what got into you today, but it had better not happen again. It disgusts me! I had to be called from a meeting, a very important one, may I add, to be told that both my sons were suspended for fighting. Unbelievable!" (A/N: I've had this phone call, just not for fighting that badly. All I got was a detention)

"What he's trying to say is that it doesn't matter if you dislike each other. You're brothers and you have to live with that."

"Half Brothers," Sesshoumaru said nonchalantly.

"It doesn't make a difference. There will be no more fights between you to, do you understand?" Their father said icily. Both nodded submissively.

"Good. Now how about dessert?"

* * *

"I'm so happy!" Kagome's voice squealed over the phone. Sango sat on her bed listen to her friend gush.

"It's only for a week Kagome. Then Inuyasha will be back at school. Along with his brother."

"Are you sure that was a guy?"

"...I dunno. I assume it was. I couldn't imagine a girl sock Inuyasha like that," Sango answered.

Although she couldn't see it over the phone, Kagome shrugged. "Yea well, he looked pretty girly to me."

Sango laughed. "Yea, he did, didn't he?"

"So what are we going to do to celebrate our victory?" Kagome asked.

"Victory?" Sango replied.

"Yea. That we're Inu-free for a whole week!"

Sango rolled her eyes. She really was taking a bit far. "Uh, Kagome, I was wondering."

"Yea?"

"How long are you gonna keep fighting. I mean, all because you bumped into him on the first day of school-"

"Well that's his fault! He was the one making such a big deal out of it!" Kagome said irritably. She didn't want to be blamed for it.

"Well, I gotta go Sango. Buyo got stuck under Souta's bed."

"Again?"

"Yea. I've gotta go get him out. Souta is about ready to start crying."

"Ok, bye."

The two girls hung up. Sango sighed and laid back on her comfortable bed. She had finished her homework and was surprisingly sleepy. Yawning, she clicked off her light and fell asleep.

* * *

"Sango, come on, get up!" A firm hand shook Sango's shoulder. She groaned slightly.

"Come on Sango. I need you to make breakfast. You know I'm no good at it," Kohaku, her younger brother whined.

Sango's sleepy face appeared from underneath the covers. "Alright. What would I do without you, Kohaku?" She muttered, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. He hugged her.

"Thanks Onee-san!" He left her room.

Yawing, she stretched her arms. She'd had a good nights sleep, until that dream of hers. She shuddered. She never wanted to dream about school ever EVER again. What could she say, the school year had just begun, and she already found herself uncomfortable with the new high school. How much longer would it last?

She made her way into the kitchen, humming as she walked. Today would be better. With Inuyasha gone, Kagome's mood would be lightened. 'And maybe that lech Miroku would be too sad without his best friend,' Sango thought, her mood improving further. Kirara her small cat purred while rubbing up against her ankle. (A/N: I don't care what the dubbed version says, it's KIRARA and that's that.)

"Good morning to you too Kirara," She greeted happily, picking her up. "I bet you want to be feed too," she smiled, setting her back down and heading for the cat food under the sink. "Where is it? I knew I left the food under here somewhere..." She mumbled.

"Are you looking for the cat food?" Kohaku suddenly said, making her jump. She bumped her head hard against the inside of the sink. "Sorry," He muttered as she gave him a look. "It's over there. I already fed her." He pointed to the corner, where the food lay by Kirara's food dish.

"Oh. Ok. I bet you want a fancy breakfast then, don't you?" Kohaku gave her a pleading smile.

"Pancakes with sausage?" He asked hopefully. Sango rolled her eyes and took out the frying pan.

"You're lucky I love you so much," She said, ruffling his hair.

After making him breakfast, which he gratefully thanked her for, Kagome stopped by on their way to school. "Hey, lets go." She said smiling. Sango nodded and grabbed her book bag. "Dad had to go to work early this morning. Same with mom. So, I ended up making breakfast," Sango explained. Kagome nodded.

"Hey, should we wait for Rin?" Kagome asked, stopping. Sango stopped as well.

"We don't exactly know where she lives, remember? She wouldn't tell us," Sango commented. Sadly, Kagome nodded.

"It struck me a bit odd. You know, that she wouldn't give us her phone number or anything. I wonder...where exactly does she live?"

Sango shrugged. "If anything, we'll see her at school. You can ask her yourself. But right now, we should get going. She's probably already there. Knowing us slowpokes, we'll be late and she'll be the one pitying our poor butts in detention." She took off running quickly, Kagome in tow. Just as they expected, no Inuyasha at school.

Kagome smiled in relief. "I was almost starting to think it was no more than a good dream, but it's obviously true!"

Miroku on the other hand, seemed glum. "Even the pervert has lost his spark without Inuyasha," Kagome pointed out. Suddenly he brightened, seeing Sango at Kagome's side.

"Hello gorgeous," He greeted, running up to them, a very fake smile planted on his face. Sango rolled her eyes.

"Give it a rest, you pervert."

He placed a hand over his heart and said dramatically, "Me? A pervert? How can you accuse me of such a thing!"

"Miroku, she's right. Absolutely right. Now if you don't mind, we'll be going." Kagome said.

"Well, goodbye then." He said, placing a hand on Sango's butt as she left.

"PERVERT!" Sango yelled smacking him straight across the face, leaving yet another giant red mark. He waved goodbye as she fumed. 'I'll get her to warm up to me,' he thought happily. 'One of these days...'

* * *

"Ooh, that pervert! He really pisses me off!" Sango vented as she kicked over a trash bin. Kagome winced slightly.

"Err...Sango? Are you sure you want to do-" She stopped when she saw the deadly look in Sango's eye.

"Hey guys!" Rin said, coming up behind them.

"Oh, hey!" Kagome greeted. Sango didn't answer. She was too busy knocking over other things in the hallway, such as posters, more trash bins and fellow students.

"What's with Sango?" Rin asked cautiously.

"Miroku. Don't even bring it up," Kagome whispered warnigly.

"Oh, alright," She said uncertainly. "Rin!" Kagome gasped.

"What?" Rin answered uncertainly.

"You're leg! You have a huge bruise! What in the world happened?" She asked.

Rin internally began to panic. She didn't want to tell either Kagome or Sango about what had happened.

_**FLASHBACK**_

_Rin sat on the couch, reading a book silently. It was late, but she needed to finish the first chapter by the next day._

_The door suddenly opened as her uncle swaggered in, highly intoxicated._

_"What are you doing up?" He grumbled._

_Rin, too meek to answer, stayed silent._

_"I said, what the hell are you still doing up!" he yelled, grabbing the book from her and throwing it clear across the room._

_She cowered slightly and answered, "Reading. For school."_

_He slapped her straight across the face. It ached numbly as a mark began to appear._

_"I told you to be done with your homework when I can back you lousy piece of shit! What kind of person are you? Huh? Answer me, damn you!" He bellowed, throwing a small vase at her, water and flowers flying askew._

_She curled into a tight ball, allowing the object to collide with her leg, breaking it. The glass shards made cuts on her leg, the impact causing it to bleed and bruise. "I'm sorry," she answered, running to her room and closing the door._

_"Rin! RIN! DO NOT CLOSE THE DOOR ON ME! YOU OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW! DAMN YOU! OPEN IT NOW!" He continued to yell, pounding on it. She hid beneath her covers, clutching her pillow tightly. She was afraid he would break the door down. Eventually, the yelling softened as he apologized repeatedly, telling her that it would never happen again. But he wasn't fooling anyone. Not anymore._

**_END FLASHBACK_**

"Oh, that," Rin said, coming up with an excuse, "After I left you guys to go home, I tripped. Clumsy me."

"But you've got cuts as well," Kagome said. "No sidewalk could do that!"

"Oh, you see, I was cutting through my neighbor's yard and taking a shortcut. And I tripped over this huge root sticking out of their giant oak tree. I cut myself on it, there were jagged edges of it," She lied.

"Oh. Alright. Just making sure you're okay," Kagome said, in a assuring tone.

Rin nodded, her throat tight. She had only made friends with them a short time ago, but it was a first. She had friends from her old school, stuck up girls that only cared about clothes to wear and parties to go to. But after her parents' death, they had left her, just like the fair-weather of summer. She wanted to tell Kagome and Sango the truth, but she was too afraid. It was too hard.

* * *

The rest of the week went surprisingly, and unfortunately (for Kagome that is) fast. By the next Monday, Inuyasha was back in all his conceited glory.

"Ass hole," Kagome muttered as they passed him and Miroku in the hallway. "He's so arrogant I'd like to kick his ass one of these days." She clenched her fist.

"Kagome, there's better things to do than that. Do you really want to get into trouble a week or so into school. Really?" Sango reminded.

"Oh yes. I do believe its' time to give him a little payback for gluing me to that chair," Kagome said dryly.

"But wasn't that when we threw that Granola bar at him?" Rin asked. Kagome shook her head.

"No, that was out of spite. I want to get him good. Embarrass him, the way he embarrassed me." She grinned maliciously, looking slightly insane.

Rin gave Sango a worried look, who shrugged in reply. "She's getting ideas again. The majority of them aren't going to be put into action, so don't worry," Sango assured her.

* * *

"Alright class, settle down. I know it's the end of the day, but you still have another hour of 'fundamental learning'" Ms. Aiosun said, quote- unquoting her fingers. The students groaned some, especially Inuyasha, who was ready to go home.

"Nice to have you back, Mr. Inuyasha," She said smiling. He shrugged. Kagome scowled. 'Maybe nice for you, to have another student to torture,' she thought. "Today we will begin debate," Ms. Aiosun said, standing at the front of the classroom. "We will pick partners, discuss the basics of debate and talk a little about past experiences."

Inuyasha smirked. Well that was easy. I mean, how many times had he gotten into an argument with Sesshoumaru? Too many to count. That was called debate, wasn't it? "And if you're wondering, no, arguing with your brothers and sisters doesn't count as debate," She added, looking directly at him. 'Damn,' he thought.

She continued to talk about the basics, occasionally asking questions of opinion and other things. "Okay, now lets find out who your partners are. Let me get my list."

Kagome raised her hand.

"Yes Miss Higurashi?" Ms. Aiosun said, looking at her.

"Didn't you say we got to pick our partners?" She asked.

Ms. Aiosun laughed, her melodic voice filling the room. "No no, I'm sorry to have confused you. I let the computer randomly pair you up. Now lets see..."

She read off the list:

"Rin and Yasu will be working together...

"Yuka and Arimi"

"Eri and Tatsuji"

"Sango and Miroku" Sango groaned slightly. Miroku waved happily at her from the other side of the room. Kagome looked uneasily at Sango. There went the chance of ending up with both her friends.

"Ayame and Noriko"

Kagome crossed her fingers, dying to end up with anyone other than Inuyasha.

The list went on, but she didn't seem to hear her name. Finally, Ms. Aiosun read the last two names:

"And finally: Inuyasha and Kagome."

Lola: Wow, a cliffie. Cool.

Paris: **Dryly** You know, you aren't THAT great a writer Lola. I thought Fox Demons were supposed to be CLEVER!

Lola: **glares** like to see YOU do better, stupid cat demon!

Paris: **hisses and runs away**

Lola: I get so sick of her. Anyway, I hope you liked it. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been low on ideas. My muse decided to take a break. **Glares**

TMM: What? Not my fault I wanted a vacation! I'm going on strike! **makes picket sign** We want a leader, not a pickle eater, we want a leader, not a pickle eater-

Lola: --' I'm surrounded by idiots. Anyway, please review!


	4. HELP!

Lola: And once again, we have a new chapter. Sorry it took so long. I've been busy with Vacation and stuff (my parents went to Hawaii, I had camp, etc.) So I hope you'll forgive me and enjoy this chapter. Thanks to everyone for the reviews!

Disclaimer: Lola-Gurl does NOT own Inuyasha or any of it's characters. They Belong to Rumiko Takahashi. That's pretty much all she owns.

Note: This chapter contains voilence, and makes me question whether this should be rated R or not. Hmm...

* * *

Chapter 4: HELP!

* * *

Kagome stood up and said, "Ms. Aiosun, I really must request another partner. Me and him, I mean, he and me, I mean." She stopped and started over, "we just don't work well together."

Ms. Aiosun gave her a sympathetic look. "Sorry Kagome, but that's part of what High School is about. You have to learn how to work with people, even if you despise them."

She looked over at Inuyasha, who looked equally displeased.

"Alright," She said reluctantly, sitting down. All chances of working with any of her friends had crashed down and shattered into a million pieces. And what was left...was him.

"Now, I'm only going to explain the project ONCE so listen well!" Ms. Aiosun said, scanning her eyes around the room. "You and your partner will be assigned an issue of today, along with whether you will be pro or con in the argument. Then, after extensive research on your part, we will have an in-class debate against another team." After that point, Inuyasha droned out. 'Damn this class! Not only is this project stupid, I had to be partnered with that stupid wench'. He glared at Kagome from across the room, who gave him a similar glare.

He scowled and looked down at his desk. 'Not only is she annoying, bitchy and two faced, the girl just happens to look like Kikyo.' It was true, of course, that the two girls looked like a mirror image. Except for a few small differences. Unlike Kikyo, Kagome had soft brown eyes and a much kinder face. Inuyasha suddenly stirred when Ms. Aiosun clapped her hands and said, "Ready, go!" he turned to Miroku with a confused look.

"What are we doing?" He asked him bluntly. Miroku made a tsking noise and shrugged.

"You should have paid attention," He said. Inuyasha gave him a murderous glare, under which Miroku shivered. "On second thought, who cares. Your supposed to get together with your partner and discuss points of the project." Inuyasha groaned and stood up.

Reluctantly, he crossed to room to where Kagome was sitting. Her glare softened none the less as he spoke quietly,

"Listen, I don't want to work with you and you don't want to work with me. Tough. I don't want to do all the work in this project, understand?"

Kagome gave a small scoff and replied curtly, "You? I hardly expected you to lift a finger. YOUR not going to dump the whole project on me, you hear?"

He furrowed his eyebrows and sat down. "So what's are topic?" He asked halfheartedly.

"Renewable Energy." Kagome said happily.

"Pro or Con?"

"Pro."

"Damn."

Kagome raised her eyebrows, surprised. "What?" Inuyasha put his hand to his mouth in mock sympathy.

"Oops, I'm sorry. Are your ears a little sensitive to those kinds of words? Do you need me to give you a hug and make it all better? Too bad. We're in High school, deal with it."

She shook her head vigorously. "No, not that. Your against Renewable Energy Resources?" He shrugged.

"Why spend all that money when we've got a perfect source of energy we're already using?" She frowned.

"Because, we're using fossil fuels, which harm the environment-"

"Who gives a damn?"

"AND are eventually going to run out of." She finished icily.

He gave her a glare and said simply, "not anytime soon." The two fought back and forth for quite a few minutes, while other partnerships discussed tactics. It was only fifteen minutes before class was over when Kagome held up her hands to show she was done arguing.

"How are we going to complete this project and work together if we can't even agree on the topic?"

Inuyasha gave a small mischievous smirk. "I was just kidding. I'm fine with Pro." You could almost see the steam spewing from Kagome's ears. Instead of screaming bloody murder, which she would have if no teacher was present, she simply gave him a deadly smile.

"I hate you," she said, voice dripping with venom.

"It's good to know I'm loved," he gave her a fake smile.

"Well if you weren't so damn self absorbent, cruel and annoying, I wouldn't hate you so much."

"Well if you weren't such a temperamental, conniving bitch, then I wouldn't hate you," he spat back.

"What did you call me?" She said, voice slightly raising. Inuyasha didn't dare reply to that since Ms. Aiosun looked up from her desk in their direction.

"I was saying that I good point to make in our argument is that more than one renewable source can be used to create less problems," He said hastily, avoiding the teacher's glance. Ms. Aiosun gave a small shrug to herself and went back to her paperwork.

"Well, that was close," Inuyasha muttered to himself.

"Yea, and it was your fault," Kagome scoffed. Inuyasha ignored her and looked at the clock.

"Five minutes left." He said aloud, happy that yet another long day of torture would soon be over. And to think, he actually enjoyed his time away from school when he was suspended. Maybe he should do that more often...

"Inuyasha," Kagome's voice awoke him from his thought process.

"What?" he replied irritably. "We need to do some work outside of class. Actually, pretty much all of it needs to be done outside of class. Are you willing to meet at the library?" He shook his head and said,

"In public? With you? Not in a million years, no." Kagome folded her arms.

"Well you're not coming to MY house, that's for sure," she scoffed.

"You're not coming to mine either," he replied. Kagome rolled her eyes. "You'd probably STEAL something," he added to annoy her.

"I would not! My family may not be as rich as you over in the Shinikwa district but I am NOT a thief!" He shrugged.

"Library's fine. How does Saturday at Noon sound?" He asked her. She was surprised he had given in so easily. "Sure, that's fine. And you're going to show up, right?"

"No, I'm going to take a last minute vacation to Peru. Of course I'm going to show up. That **is** the point right?" He said dryly. 'Not if you're a lazy ass like yourself,' Kagome thought as the bell rang. The class got up and left hastily, one by one out the door. Kagome met up with Sango and Rin before they left the classroom.

"So, how'd it go?" Kagome asked Sango. She shrugged. "I dunno. I warned that pervert to keep his hands to himself before he could say a singe word."

Kagome gave a small laugh before she said, "What about you Rin?" Rin shrugged.

"I don't know. My partner's smart, but she's really quiet. I'm not sure how she'll hold up in debate. Other than that, she's really nice! We get along well."

Kagome sighed. "I wish I could say the same for me and that jerk Inuyasha."

"Yea, how did that go? I didn't see either of you hurt or getting sent to the office, so I assume it went ok," Sango said, impressed. Kagome shrugged.

"I dunno. It went ok, I guess. He was still being a jerk though. Spent a good 10 minutes arguing with me about Renewable Energy before he told me he was just kidding."

"Maybe he's preparing you for the actual debate," Rin suggested.

"So what are your topics?" Kagome asked, willing to change the subject off of Inuyasha.

"Human Cloning," Sango answered.

"Animal Rights," Rin said.

"I think Ms. Aiosun went a little topic crazy," Kagome sighed. "They're hard topics. I have a feeling everybody's going to be spouting opinions, not fact. And then it'll be like Jerry Springer...at school... and without rednecks."

"We might just want to talk to Principal Seinou about hiring some body guards in that case," Sango said lightly. Rin grew silent for a moment, whishing she had a bodyguard.

* * *

Rin walked the rest of the way home alone, reluctant with every step she took. School was her escape from home. The end of the day was always unsettling, and weekends were worse. To think, most high schoolers were the exact opposite. She kicked a small stone far ahead of her, watching it skim across the sidewalk. She was less than a block away from her house, and then the torture would begin. Her uncle would probably be angry with her for taking to long.

Suddenly, she heard a small curse and realized she was not alone. She looked up ahead and saw a distressed figure with his car, right in front of her house. As she neared, she realized it was someone from her high school. An upperclassmen, in fact.

"Excuse me, do you need any help?" She asked cautiously. Sesshoumaru looked at her with cold eyes.

"No, I'm fine. There isn't much you can do really. Unless you just happen to have a tank of gas lying around. I thought I would be able to make it home. Apparently this car doesn't have as good of gas mileage as I thought." Rin set down her back pack and rushed into her garage without a word.

She came back dragging a can of gas. "It's leaded, I hope it doesn't matter. My uncle is a mechanic, and sometimes he has cans like this lying around. It should be enough to get you home." He looked at her, amazed at her sudden act of kindness. The girl looked familiar, but he couldn't put a finger on exactly how.

"Thank you," he muttered, taking the can from her easily. (A/N: this isn't a little can of gas you know. It's those big red ones you use that can be quite heavy)

"What's your name?" He asked suddenly. Rin was slightly taken aback, but answered, "Rin."

"What's your surname?"

"Makino."

"Didn't you used to live in the Shinikwa district?" He asked, looking at her intensely.

She hesitated, but gave a slight nod. "Hai. I live with my uncle now. I moved here to the Kaisun district almost a year ago." Sesshoumaru gave a small nod.

"I should be going now. Thank you. You saved me quite a bit of trouble." With that, her upperclassmen gave a small nod of appreciation and got into his car. Without another thought, he drove off, leaving Rin behind. She sighed in discontent, almost wishing she was in the car with him. She had no idea her uncle sat in the living room window, watching scornfully.

* * *

"I'm home!" Sango called as she stepped in the door. Her father looked up from his book.

"Hello sweetheart. How was school?" He smiled kindly at her. She shrugged and set down her bag on the couch.

"It was okay, I guess. We didn't do much. Math class is picking up a bit, and we've started our first unit in LA, but nothing else special."

"Have you made any new friends?" It was a classic question. Parents could never go wrong with that one.

"One. Her name is Rin. She lives somewhere near by, although, I'm not exactly sure were." Sango said, walking to the kitchen in search of snacks. She found a bag of chips in the pantry and quickly opened it. She gleefully indulged herself until her father gave her another question.

"And how's Kagome?"

Sango munched thoughtfully for a moment, then answered, "She's okay. She's having a tough time getting along with her partner in Language arts class though." She laughed slightly at the though of the two. 'Someday they'll get along,' she thought shrugging.

"Any boys giving you trouble?"

Sango stopped at this point. Her thoughts immediately went to Miroku, that stupid lech that couldn't keep his hands to himself. She slowly shook her head and gave a fake smile. "No...not at all."

* * *

Rin sat in her room, quietly doing her homework. Her uncle had been gone for about two or three hours. She had made herself dinner, assuming he would be fine on his diet of beer nuts at the local bar. When she was completely finished, she sighed contently and sprawled out on her bed.

Her thoughts kept wandering back to earlier that day, when she helped her upperclassmen, Sesshoumaru was his name? She shrugged it off. He had lived in a nearby area, within walking distance, but she paid no attention to that when she was young. Now that she looked back, she realized how lucky she must have been. All of her parents money had gone to relatives, and what her uncle had gotten of it, he had spent. On alcohol, no doubt. Suddenly, she sat up, hearing the front door open. Her uncle was home, and was probably intoxicated.

"Rin, come here."

Big trouble. Whenever he used that tone, things were bad. Cautiously, she stood up. She quivered as her knees wobbled. She knew she was in for another slap in the face, for whatever it was she had done. Not taken the garbage out. Left a dirty dish in the sink. Not gone out to check the mail.

"Yes?" She replied carefully, stepping into the family room. Her uncle staggered a little bit as he lurched forward and grabbed her shirt collar tightly.

"You've got some nerve you little bitch." He shoved her forcefully backwards, into the couch. Her back ached painfully as she gave out a small yelp of pain.

"HOW **DARE** YOU GIVE MY THINGS TO OTHER PEOPLE! THAT COSTS ME MONEY! YOU'RE WORTHLESS! YOU'RE A DISGRACE! YOU'RE MOTHER AND FATHER WOULD BE SICKENED BY YOU!" He bellowed as he kicked her repeatedly in the stomach. She coughed heavily after each blow, waiting for it all to be over. He picked her up and slammed her against the wall threateningly.

"Get out of this house. Stay away. Anyone's better off without you. Never come back here again," with that he threw her down to the ground. She whimpered slightly, drawing in her breath slowly.

"What did I just say! LEAVE!" He screamed, pointing towards the door. Without a word, Rin found the strength to get up and run out the door.

Tears mingled with the falling rain as she ran. She was running out of energy, and fast. In the fog and rain, she couldn't tell where she was going. 'God, I'm going to die,' she thought, going into a coughing fit. She coughed blood into her hand, only adding to the amount she was already covered in. 'Please,' she thought desperately, 'someone help me'

* * *

A more serious chapter...not to mention a shorter one. Ah well, it's pretty late and I just wanted to post this chapter. I hope the rating of this fic his high enough, I'm not sure if I'm going to get yelled at for not rating this R. Let me know what you guys think! Either email me, or better yet leave a review. **So here's the question for you to answer:**

**Should the fic be rated R?**

**And any reasons if you strongly think yes or no...**

More Miroku/Sango coming up. Sango's going to get a little fed up and within the next 'month' of the story will start changing herself drastically...

So yea. I hope you liked this chapter (I know all I'm thinking right now is 'Poor Rin!') and please Review!

Thank you everyone!

Lola-Gurl


	5. A New Home?

Lola: I love updating. It makes me feel spiffy. I'm sorry it took so long. With swim team, I was busy as busy gets. All that swimming (and carb loading...yum) takes more time than you think. But here I am again! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. And **Amree**, I guess we're thinking along the same lines

This chapter is mostly Rin/Sesshoumaru related...no scratch that. The whole thing is Rin/Sesshoumaru related.

I'm trying to add more Sango/Miroku incidents, but I can't really think of many. If you have any suggestions, let me know, I'd love to hear them! (And I'll give you credit, of course!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of it's characters. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I don't own Dominic Monaghen either...although I REALLY wish I did. That does not mean, of course, that he isn't tied to a pole in my basement....

So, with all that said....here we go....

* * *

Chapter 5: A New Home?

* * *

He walked alone.

It wasn't cold out, and nighttime was the perfect time to think. Besides, what else was an insomniac supposed to do? Stay in bed like a good little boy and try to sleep? Not a chance.

It had stopped raining. The rain had fallen for two hours or so, then died out to nothing. The fog had not yet cleared.

It was midnight.

Lazily, Sesshoumaru walked around his neighborhood. He had done this so many times; it had begun to bore him. He had already gone around the block three or four times. Finally, he decided to take a new route. Instead of turning left at the corner, which would take him back to his neighborhood, he turned right. It took him passed a nearby park, from across which was the Kaisun district.

As he crossed the park, the wet blades of grass stuck to his shoes. He tried to disregard the discomfort in his feet and continue to walk. Walking alone was the only thing that seemed to make him sleepy. This way he could think about whatever he wanted without any distraction or interruption.

Suddenly, he stopped. He whipped his head around, eyes darting back and forth for any sign of movement. He had heard an unusual sound. He turned back around and continued walking, this time more alert. If he was not alone, there would be problems.

He narrowed his eyes in front of him. A dark, blurry object lie on the ground about 150 feet away. He cautiously neared whatever it was, and the figure started to stand out. It was a person.

His pace quickened as he came closer. When he reached the person he realized it was a girl. Calmly kneeling down, he checked her pulse. She was still alive, but needed help. He ruled the hospital out right away. That would rouse suspicion: a high school boy coming in to the hospital in the middle of the night with a girl he didn't know. Besides, then his parents would know of he was sneaking out. And that would be the end to his midnight walks. Where else would he take her? Home? He supposed that was the only way.

Carefully (and ever-so-gently) he picked her up and began to carry her. She was incredibly light, which he was grateful for. As he walked he looked at the girl in his arms. Her face as covered in bruises, along with a cut down her right cheek. Her flimsy shirt, which was wet from the rain and numerous blood stains, was cut in several places. He looked at her sad state and pitied her. If there was ever a time in his life where he felt sorry for himself (which was generally often) his problems seemed like nothing compared to her.

But who was she? She was so oddly familiar to him, but it was difficult to tell with so many disfiguring bruises on her face. He concentrated on her face alone, trying to imagine what she would look like without them. Then suddenly, he knew at once how he recognized her. It was the same girl from earlier that day. She had helped him with his car. Her name was Rin.

Odd as it was, even to him, he let his pace quicken slightly as he carried her. Somehow knowing who she was seemed to make a difference in how quickly she received the urgent care she needed.

When he reached the back of the house, where his bedroom was, he realized what a predicament he was in. He had left by going out his 2nd story window and climbing down a nearby tree. The doors were locked. He would cause too much noise if he broke in, or if he unlocked them from the inside. He would have to climb up the tree with her on his back. He frowned slightly. He was going through way to much trouble for a girl he hardly knew. Yet, a fairly large part of him was gnawing at his insides, telling him that he was just repaying a favor. He slung her small, delicate figure over his back quite carefully, then began to climb up the tree. He had become quite good at climbing with the use of only one hand, so the other was free to make sure she was safely secured to his back.

He hopped through his window without a sound, with Rin still unconscious in his arms. He gave a small sigh of relief, thankful he had made it inside without tripping any alarms outside (or inside). He lay Rin down on his bed and went to the bathroom to obtain the necessary first aid supplies. He turned the faucet to cold water and plunged a washcloth into the sink, letting it sit. Then he opened a cabinet in search of band-aids. (A/N: Just so you know, the bathroom is attached to his bedroom. He didn't have to run down the hallway or anything)

He came out of the bathroom with the supplies and sat down on the bed. He placed the cold washcloth on Rin's forehead and used another to clean the many cuts and scrapes that adorned her body. He tried not to notice how scarred her porcelain skin was as he wiped away the blood. He carefully bandaged each and every wound as she slept. It was obvious now that she was going to be all right. He put her damaged clothes in a small pile on the ground and dressed her in an old nightgown (A/N: I can't believe she slept through all that...). When he was finished he stood and put the supplies back in the bathroom.

He placed a small light on the desk next to the large feather bed, incase it he needed it. He paced around the room a few times, still unable to sleep. He wondered what would happen to Rin, once her uncle (or whoever she lived with) realized that she was gone. A sudden stirring noise awoke him from his thoughts. He turned to see Rin, moving slightly. She moved her head around a bit and scrunched her eyes. She was waking up.

She exhaled a deep sigh as her blurry vision slightly cleared. It was dark. Where was she? The last thing she remembered....her uncle....the gas.... Rin realized that she was lying on a bed (a very comfortable one in fact) She sat up in a panic, unable to recognize her surroundings. She gave a frightened gasp as her heart rate sped up.

"Lay back down, you're still hurt." Came a calm and familiar voice. Rin's eyes darted around wildly in the dark.

"Who are you?" She asked frantically.

"That doesn't matter. Lay back down."

"But-

"Lay down." This was more a demand than a request. With a squeak she shot back down flat against the bed, hiding the majority of her face underneath the cover.

"You don't have to worry," the voice was softer now, "you're in a good place. Whatever happened to you will not happen again."

Rin found the voice so familiar, it was driving her near insanity. "Show me who you are." She suddenly demanded, sounding stronger than she felt.

"No, sleep now. You need rest if you want to recover."

She frowned. She wouldn't be able to unless she found out who's voice that was! "I can't sleep. Not if I don't know where I am and who you are."

She heard him heave a sigh. "Will you sleep if I show you?" He asked.

"Yes," she promised.

Footsteps drew nearer to her, until they reached the light that was beside the bed. The glow of the lamp made his cold face look somewhat vibrant. Rin opened her mouth to gasp, but the air from her lungs swept out in staggered exhalations.

Sesshoumaru...had rescued her. Blinking his eyes nonchalant to her reaction, he said, "Now sleep."

She set her head back on the pillow with a look of slight shock on her face. It was hard to believe, yet somehow she knew that it must be true. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted back to sleep.

Sesshoumaru watched her for a few moments as she slept peacefully, a smile planted on her face. Had he given her pleasure? Was she happy that it was he who saved her from whatever trouble she had gotten into? Usually, he could care less about what others thought of him, but somehow, he was glad that he made her happy.

He sat down in a comfortable chair, exhaustion slowly washing over him. Knowing that she was safe made it easier for him to rest...but why?

* * *

The next morning, Sesshoumaru greeted the early morning sunlight with his usual surly disposition. He hated mornings. He hated the afternoon too. Hell, he hated pretty much everything, day and night. He blinked a few times to get his eyes going, then stretched out of the chair. His back was sore from sleeping in it. Why had he fallen asleep in his chair again? Oh yes. The girl.

He looked over to his bed to see her still sleeping in a heap under the covers. He turned to the bathroom, to take a shower (A/N: I bet your expecting a detailed paragraph or so on the shower, huh? Sorry, it's late, I wanna finish the chapter. ï 


	6. Return to a Troubling Scene

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its' characters. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi. TT

Authors Note: Thanks for all of you for reviewing. You're the ones who keep me inspired to write! I really appreciate all the kind things so say, along with the wonderful ideas you suggest.

However, there was one review that caught my particular notice, from **Sessoyasha**, who wrote: **"I resent that I'm a redneck so shut the fuck up"** In reference to chapter 4, in which Kagome made a comment about Jerry Springer and rednecks.

There are a few things I would like to say in reply to that. First of all, here in **WISCONSIN**, we've got quite a few rednecks as well. We're frequently called a "hick state" ourselves. It is a common stereotype in many of the environments I encounter. I understand why you would be offended, Sessoyasha, and for that I'm sorry.

**_BUT_**, I never stated that this was the way that I felt. As a common stereotype, you shouldn't be surprised by it. Just because a character states a fact in one of my stories, I do not necessarily think that way. Many of John Steinbeck's characters in **Of Mice and Men** use the 'N' word as a term to describe an African American stable worker. Does that mean that John Steinbeck himself is racist?

The point I'm trying to make is that I had no intention of insulting anyone. I understand why you're angry, and your right to be so. However, I resent being told to 'Shut the Fuck up'. If you're going to be angry with me, than please do it using better language. This site is open to people of all ages, and believe it or not there are people who don't want to see this kind of language. I admit that even I may use such gruesome language when I'm angry, but I would appreciate it if you would not direct your anger towards me but rather to a nice, pretty red punching bag.

Ok, that's all I have to say.

I'm not sure as to whether I'm going to delete this review or not. Let me know what you think.

To all those who DON'T wish to tell me to shut up, thank you. I'm sorry you had to read that. That's my ranting at it's…well not so finest.

Ok, less talking, more story…ing.

* * *

Chapter 6: Return to a Troubling Scene

Rin sat on Sesshoumaru's floor for near a half hour before actually doing anything. The longer she sat there, the more surreal everything felt. _This can't be real,_ she told herself firmly, _I'm dreaming. I'm NOT at Sesshoumaru Taisho's house._

But sitting there didn't help change the fact that she was in fact, sitting on his floor.

The confused and uneasy emotions quickly turned to anxiety. She couldn't live here. Everything that had just happened was preposterous. She couldn't just pack up her things and move into an upperclassmen's _house_…could she?

She began to feel a swelling sensation in her stomach, one she hadn't felt in quite a while. Was it…joy? Happiness? That excited her. The last time she had been truly happy was when her family was…..well, alive.

"Well," She said to herself, "If I'm going to live here, I need my stuff. Sesshoumaru-sama may have told me to stay here…but I can't just live here with no stuff. And I can't go there in his mother's nightgown. That alone was uncomfortable.

She searched for her clothes. They were nowhere to be seen. She scowled. Her house was indeed quite a bit away. She didn't want to go in a nightgown. And if she saw anyone she knew (particularly Kagome or Sango) she'd have a lot of explaining to do. Her stomach rumbled with hunger. She sighed exasperatedly. Somehow, things seemed much more complicated than they had ever been, and she hadn't done much.

Finally deciding to go downstairs, she tiptoed outside the giant room to find a grand hallway, which led two ways (…as most hallways do…) One, was to further hallways and rooms, the other was to a large set of stairs and a balcony over the front door (A/N: If you know what I mean, there's a staircase to one side of the wall, leading down to the area where the front door is. Up the stairs is a sort of balcony, where anyone upstairs can look down and see what's going on down stairs)

As she came down stairs, she was cautious not to bump into anyone she knew there would be maids, or parents or…Inuyasha. The thought hit her like a lightning bolt. She would be living under the same roof as Kagome's greatest foe.

It was insane.

"Are you Makino-chan?" A voice asked. Rin stiffened and turned around reluctantly. She nodded. "Yes, I am." She said, lowering her head. A maid looked kindly on her.

"As I thought. Sesshoumaru-san instructed me to help you in any means possible. First of all, let's get you something to eat." The maid grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hallway, directly to the kitchens.

"You can have anything you want for breakfast. What is it you desire?" The maid asked.

Rin was speechless. She had never been offered anything with such openness. Even her parents had never opted to give her anything she wanted.

"I **can't** choose," she said, overwhelmed.

"Well then just sit down and I'll choose for you. My name is Tadako, by the way."

"Arigato, Tadako-san!" Rin said thankfully. Tadako only smiled. "You deserve all the best. Young master Sesshoumaru told me of your troubles."

Tadako was no more than thirty years of age. She had a light completion and dark eyes, with made her look a bit sickly, but young. She was tall and slender, like a willow tree, with long, graceful movements. A pair of square, black-rimmed glasses framed her face, making her features appear more sharp and intelligent. Her black hair was tied neatly in a bun at the back of her head. Rin thought her beautiful.

After she had been well fed (and carefully watched so) Tadako led Rin down a long hallway on the third floor. "These are generally the guest bedrooms," she explained, "and Sesshoumaru-sama instructed that you get any of them you want."

After close examination of each and every one of them (and there were MANY) Rin finally chose one. There wasn't anything particularly great about it. It wasn't large and spacious, or ingeniously designed, it was simple. The room had been painted with soft colors that gave it a relaxed, calm feeling. The bed was placed against the wall below a large window, where the moonlight could shine in at night. She loved it.

"I've always liked this room too," Tadako said, "but nobody has really stayed in it. Mostly because the majority of our guests are men. I suppose it's too feminine for their liking." Rin, giving into temptation, rushed forward and collapsed backwards on the bed, letting out a great sigh of content. Tadako smiled and laughed. "I see you find it quite comfortable," she commented, "and I'm glad. Master Sesshoumaru will be very happy indeed."

Rin said nothing. She only closed her eyes and thought happily of how much she could do with this lifestyle.

* * *

By mid-afternoon, Rin began to get restless. Tadako had to go out and run errands, and left Rin alone with the rest of the maids, who seemed to be somewhere around the large house. A part of her mind continued to nag her about going home and getting the rest of her stuff. Why not? She thought. Her uncle would surely be at work by now. She was no longer wearing the old nightgown, but instead a maid's uniform that Tadako had lent her until she retrieved her stuff.

Without another, she marched out the door to get her stuff. The only thing she had with her was the cell phone Sesshoumaru had given her. She looked happily at it, thankful that if anything were to happen, he would be able to come to her rescue again.

As she walked, she pondered that thought. He had rescued her. Of all the people in the world that she thought could possibly save her, Kagome and Sango, the police…Johnny Depp…it was the person she had least expected (ok, other than Johnny Depp). She wasn't quite sure if she liked the idea or not.

When she reached her uncle's house she hid behind a tree to survey the area. Her uncle's car was missing and nothing seemed all that peculiar. She dashed across the street to the front door and unlocked it with the key, which she hid underneath the 'Welcome' mat.

When she stepped inside she gasped. The house was a complete disaster area, or more so than it usually was. Things had been smashed all over. There were empty beer cans, cigarette packages, clothes, food packages and broken glass spread across the floor. She darted around the room, avoiding anything that could possibly go through her shoe. She rounded the corner into her bedroom to find it in worse condition. Her mattress (on the floor) had been ripped to shreds and feathers blanketed the floor. Insults and foul names were written across the walls with god knows what. All of her things were gone. She looked around wildly, trying to find where he could have possibly put them.

It was then she noticed the smell of smoke.

She fled her old room and dashed into the backyard. All of her things stood in a heap of charred ash. He had burned all of her things. She put her hands over her mouth in horror. How could he be so cruel? She dashed back into her bedroom without a second thought, in search of anything that had remained. He hadn't missed a thing. She looked over at her dresser, which was tattered, but still intact.

She walked over to it and pulled out the first drawer. It was empty. She pulled out the other two. Both empty.

The picture.

She suddenly remembered. Whenever she felt alone, she would go to that picture. It was the only one she had left of her family. When she had fist moved in with her uncle, she was ridded of all of her family pictures, since he hated the reminder. This was the one remaining picture that had saved her so many nights after being beaten and controlled.

She went to the third drawer in the dresser and pulled hard on the board inside. It loosened, and eventually was ripped away from the frame of the drawer. Inside was a compartment, where she had kept the most important things she owned. They were still there.

She cried out in joy and thankfulness, as she pulled the items out of the drawer. Along with the picture there were a few items that reminded her of her family: Her mother's hairbrush, a watch that belonged to her father, and two small toys she had given her younger brothers. She smiled fondly at the items, her eyes stinging as tears began to wet the corners of her eyes.

She turned then to the picture. It had been the picture they had taken that Christmas, a few months before they died. Her parents were dressed formally, smiling happily. Rin admitted that was the prettiest she'd ever seen herself (even if it was in a photograph). Her brothers wore hand-knit sweaters. The whole family looked so happy. If only they knew what was going to happen.

Rin, no longer able to take the steadily building pain she was under, collapsed in a fit of tears, hugging the picture closely.

* * *

Sesshoumaru was in Chemistry class when he received the call. He had his phone on vibrate, since cell phone usage was not allowed during school hours.

Sesshoumaru set his pencil down and asked to get a drink. The teacher nodded and he left the room. He quickly ducked out of sight and answered his phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi...it's Rin."

"Yes Rin, what do you need?" He asked, looking around the hallway to make sure he was alone.

"It's gone. It's all gone," She said shakily, trying to control her voice before she began to cry again.

"What's gone?" He asked calmly, but there was a slightly quizzical tone in his voice.

"My stuff. My uncle burned almost everything. It's all a pile of ashes in the backyard. All my clothes…my belongings-"

"You left the house," he said sighing, "I told you not to. I…drove by this morning and saw it. I had hoped you would follow my instructions."

"I'm sorry," She sniffed.

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of everything, alright?" He said in a soft tone.

"…Okay. I owe you everything Sesshoumaru-sama," she said gratefully.

'_Damn right you do'_, he thought disdainfully, but he only replied with a small, "hmm."

He hung up and shook his head. She was trouble, that was for sure. But somehow, worth it. This still puzzled him to know end.

He made a quick phone call and went back into class quietly. When he entered the room, a classmate of his commented dryly, "Well that's the longest damn drink I've ever heard of."

* * *

"I'm worried," Kagome said finally. It was lunchtime. She had been holding the thought in all day and kept it to herself until she could finally no longer take it.

"About what?" Sango asked, opening a can of soda.

"Rin," Kagome said, shaking her head, "I dunno. Maybe I'm being way to motherly, but it's just…weird. She acts so strange sometimes. And she seems to miss school so often. At least once a week."

"I don't know Kagome. Maybe she's sick. You could be overreacting. Would it make you feel better if we called her after school?"

Kagome shook her head. "See that's one of the things. I don't have her phone number. She won't give it to me. We've never even seen her house. What are we supposed to do to get in touch with her?"

"Well she has my number, and I know you gave her yours," Sango said logically, "she can call us if she feels the need. That's how we'd meet up with her otherwise."

"Yea, I guess you're right. I'm overreacting." Kagome laughed.

"Keh, you always overreact." An annoying voice interrupted Kagome from her somewhat pleasant mood. Oh well. That was out of the question now.

"What do you want, Inuyasha?" She asked, her tone so deadly it made acid seem harmless.

"Who said I wanted anything? But while your at it, you could just leave and never step foot in my school again," he said, a smirk planted on his face.

"Ok, fine. But as far as I know, you don't have your own school. And while you're at it, you can do me a favor: Put your lip over your head and swallow."

"Uh oh, better call the paramedics for that one. That was a third degree burn," Miroku said with a wince. Inuyasha glared at him. Miroku shut his mouth.

"Whatever, Kagome. I came over here to tell you that I have plans for Saturday-"

"-You're not backing out on me, if that's what you think," she said, gritting her teeth.

"That's not what I'm saying, would you give me a damn second to explain what I'm saying?!" He said irritably. Kagome shut her mouth and let him continue.

"I was saying we should probably meet a little earlier than that, so I can leave around 2:30. Is that okay with you, wench?"

"That's fine," She said, still glaring at him, "and don't call me wench."

He looked at her in mock sympathy. "Oh, I'm sorry Kagome, did I hurt those feelings of yours? I'm sorry, but you have to face the truth. The first step is acceptance you know."

"Oh go away." She said, turning her back to him.

He walked away, with Miroku in tow (but of course, not before he got his hands on Sango's behind)

"He's such an asshole," Kagome said haughtily.

"I know! Who does he think he is going around grabbing people's butts?!" Sango said, enraged.

"Umm, actually, I was talking about Inuyasha, but you're right. They're both assholes."

Kagome felt a sick feeling settle in her stomach. Now she would have to meet him at the library earlier than planned. She had hoped she could sleep till noon and forget about meeting him there. She sighed.

Sometimes there was no choice. You just had to stick it out.

* * *

Done! And it's only 9:30. But I'm tired and want to go to bed anyway…what kind of teenager am I? I'm sorry about the rant at the beginning people. You who didn't deserve it shouldn't have to listen to it. I hope it won't have to happen again. --'

Any more ideas for me, let me know!

Love you guys! Don't forget to review! (**wink wink!**)

LOLA


	7. Alterations

Lola: It's 11:00 pm on a school, night. I'm screwed. But it's going up, I swear to god. Mom is gonna kill me. Anyway, new chapter. I'm happy. Paris will be happy. The whole world better be happy, dammit!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, or its characters. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Get it got it good.

**Also: A new disclaimer: I, Lola-Gurl, do not stand for any statements the characters may say in my stories. They are simply said to fit the character as best I can.** (I hope that is understood clearly now…)

With that, lets go already.

* * *

Chapter 7: Alterations

"You…you did that for me?" Rin asked uncertainly. She looked at the large number of shopping bags sitting in her new bedroom.

"I didn't. I have a cousin who works at the mall. She was happy to do it. Needless to say, if I would have done it, I would have gotten some strange looks," Sesshoumaru drawled.

Rin felt close to tears. Joyful ones at that, which seemed quite rare in her lifetime. "You did take care of everything, thank you. I can't even say how grateful I am! You've given me everything! Sesshoumaru-sama, thank you!" She felt like hugging him, but she knew no good would come of that.

'_I've given her everything she deserves,'_ he thought to himself, _'Now I hope she'll be happy enough to leave me to myself'_.

"There are a few things you should know," he said, instructing her, "I told my parents that I hired a new maid, so if they see you around the house and tell you to get to work, that's why. Also, I'm not sure your cuts and bruises won't last much longer, but don't go back to school until next week. And don't leave the house anymore, I mean that."

"Does Inuyasha know I'm here?" Rin asked.

"No. And don't tell him either. He'd be liable to tell my parents the truth, and they would make a fuss. Eventually, he might find out. But until that time, try not to be seen by him. Also, don't tell any of your friends you're here yet, and if you must, don't be truthful about it."

She nodded. "I understand."

"Thank you. I'm going to go now. If you need anything, find Tadako. She's always on hand around here somewhere."

* * *

Kagome awoke on Saturday to the deafening tone of her alarm clock. Half asleep, she grabbed it from her bedside table and smothered it underneath her pillow. Eventually she realized that it wasn't going to stop unless she turned it off. She regretfully took it out from underneath her pillow and turned it off. It was currently 8:00.

She and Inuyasha had agreed to meet at 10:00, so he could leave earlier. Groggily, she stepped out of bed, nearly landing on Buyo.

"Good morning, Buyo," she said softly, picking up the overweight cat. "I bet you want to eat, huh? Okay, I'll feed you. Sometimes I wish Souta'd do it."

"Morning Kagome!" Souta said, jumping out of nowhere to greet his sister. Kagome was so startled she nearly dropped Buyo.

"Souta, don't do that!" She demanded angrily. He put his head down sadly and apologized. Kagome sighed and set Buyo down. "Souta, I'm sorry. I love you." She hugged her little brother.

"I already fed Buyo. He was scratching at my door this morning, so I decided I'd do it before he woke you up," Souta said.

"Thanks," Kagome said gratefully, heading downstairs, "I appreciate it. It makes this morning much less hectic."

"Why?" Souta asked curiously, "what's going on this morning that's hectic? It's a Saturday."

"I know," Kagome sighed. "I have to go to the library in 2 hours and meet some stupid kid from school. We're doing a project together and I would much rather have a different partner."

"I see," Souta said, nodding. "That sucks. I'm sorry, sis. Don't let him bother you, okay? He's just trying to make you angry."

"Why? Why would anyone try to make someone angry or hurt them on purpose?" Kagome asked, more to herself than to Souta.

"Because he thinks its funny or something. He wants to see you angry," Souta said, shrugging. It seemed less than obvious to him. Why not to Kagome?

She asked herself this question internally as she surveyed her little brother.

"You're pretty smart," she said, ruffling his hair with a smile, "Thanks."

"No problem. Mom had to go to the store, so she said we could have cereal this morning. She didn't have ingredients to make anything special today. She said she'd be back in an hour or so. She left you a note on the table." Souta pointed to the note that lay on the kitchen counter.

Kagome picked it up and read her mother's neat handwriting.

_**Kagome,**_

_**I went to the grocery store. You and Souta can have cereal this morning, unless you want toast or something. I'm writing you this note because I'm not sure I trust Souta with the message. I'll be back around 9:00. Behave yourselves!**_

_**Lots of Love,**_

_**Mom**_

Kagome smiled at her mother's note. It seemed to depict her personality flawlessly. "Okay," Kagome said with a shrug. "Lets make some cereal." She went to the cupboard and grabbed a box of sugary cereal and poured it into two bowls. She didn't have much of a taste for it, but she knew it was what her little brother desired.

"Thanks Kag!" He said, hugging his sister round the middle.

She patted the top of his head absently. At the moment, she had other things on her mind.

* * *

Sango set down the dish of cat food for her small kitten.

"Eat up Kirara," She said, petting the adorable little figure that ran eagerly to the dish. She smiled at her kitten as it ate.

The phone began to ring.

Sango ignored it, figuring it was far too early to socialize. Eventually, Kohaku decided to pick it up himself. He came into the kitchen with the cordless phone in hand.

"Sango, the phone's for you," he said, holding it out for her.

"Who's calling?" She asked, pouring water in Kirara's water dish.

Kohaku shrugged. "I dunno. Some guy. He didn't tell me his name."

Sango stiffed slightly at these words. It was that lecher of a partner Miroku, she was certain. What other guy would call her on a Saturday? What other guy would _ever_ call her?

"Okay," she said, taking the phone from her little brother. "Hello?"

"Sango dearest, it's Miroku-"

"What do you want?" She tried to be terse and to the point. She had no desire to stay on the phone any longer than necessary.

"Oh, don't be so harsh San-chan!" He wined.

"Don't call me that," she hissed in a deadly voice. She could nearly her Miroku shuddering on the other line.

"You' re cold Sango, really you are. I called about the debate research we need to do," He said, beginning to sound more serious than she had heard him.

"Yea, what about it? I thought we agreed that we'd both do some researching this weekend and meet back on Monday with the information we found," she said, sounding questioning, "what's the problem?"

"Well, you see Sango, my computer is broken. It got some sort of virus, and I have to wait until Tuesday afternoon to get it fixed. So I thought it would be logical that we get together and do research," he said this all smoothly, trying to sound as realistic as possible. "It makes sense, does it not?"

Sango groaned inwardly. She had no desire of wasting her Saturday in the presence of that perverted jerk. "Yes, I suppose so. We're going to the library then?" She asked listlessly.

"That's a wonderful idea Sango!" He said enthusiastically, not really because of the idea, moreover because his plan had worked. "What do you say we meet about 1:00?"

"That's fine Miroku."

"Wonderful! I'll see you then!" He hung up and grinned mischievously. "See Inu? I **told** you that it'd work." Inuyasha rolled his eyes at his hopeless friend.

"I think you're wasting your time Miroku. The girls impossible to break. You'll never get her to like you with what you're doing. What happens if she finds out your computer is in perfect working condition?" Inuyasha asked coolly.

Miroku shrugged. "I'll don't know. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

* * *

Kagome arrived outside the library at promptly 10:00. She waited nervously, afraid Inuyasha would pull some sort of prank on her and not show up, or worse; humiliate her in public. He had already done enough with the super glue in math class. Anything else would send her over the edge.

The air held a bit of chill, which Kagome unwillingly accepted. For after that came the colder weather, and with it, winter. It wasn't as if she disliked winter at all, she just couldn't stand the cold. She hugged her thin jacket closer to her body, wishing sincerely that she had worn something warmer.

"You're more idiotic than I thought, wench. At least wear a real jacket," A disdainful voice proclaimed.

Her mood worsened even more at these words. Thinking about him was bad enough. Actually being in his presence was even worse. She turned her head grudgingly to see Inuyasha standing there, his hands jammed in his coat pockets. Unlike her, he had been smart enough to wear a warmer jacket.

"I've realized that now," she said bitterly, "can we go inside now?"

He nodded and followed her inside the building. Kagome was extremely appreciative for the warm air that circulated throughout the large library. "Okay," she said in a quiet voice, "I think one of us should do research on the computer, while one looks through printed material. Then we can meet up a little later and write down some important facts."

It was her plan. If they were split up using two different sources, she wouldn't have to worry about being around him, fighting with him, or (god forbid) getting kicked out of the library.

"That would work," Inuyasha said in agreement, "if everyone weren't using the computers."

Kagome looked around to library and groaned. Every single computer was occupied one person or another. "We should check the second floor," she said determinedly, "there's computers there too. I'm sure there will be an open one somewhere." She rushed up the stairs, Inuyasha in reluctantly following.

_This girl was insanely determined,_ he thought to himself, _and it's sort of amusing._ Kagome looked miserable when she saw that the upstairs computers too were unavailable for use.

"Well, that throws a fairly large wrench in our plans," she said forlornly, "I guess we won't be doing any internet research."

"See, that's why I'm the smart one and you're completely retarded," Inuyasha said with a scoff.

(A/N: Once again, **not my views**, just Inuyasha's words. I'm just saying this as fair warning before I get any more flames)

Kagome shot him angry looks. He pulled a stack of papers, neatly printed and paper clipped together. "I decided to do some stuff last night. And for good reason it seems," he said, raising his eyebrows at the surprised girl. Kagome reached for it, but Inuyasha held it out of her reach. She furrowed her eyebrows angrily and reached for it again. Yet once more, he held it out of her reach.

"Looks like someone wasn't taught manners!" He said, with a mocking tone. "Use the magic word."

"Please Inuyasha!" She said pleadingly, "we're wasting time fighting. Please just hand me the papers so I can look at them."

He handed them over without another word.

She blinked it complete oblivious confusion. Was it really that easy?

"Uh, thanks," she said, taking them from his hands. She eyed through the information as she walked. "Wow," she said, impressed, "this is some really good information. It's great for our argument too! Where'd you get this?"

He shrugged. "I don't know," he said nonchalantly. "some sites on the internet. The web addresses are listed at the end."

And so they were.

Kagome set her things down on one of the round tables in a small area of the library. "Wow. Inuyasha, I'm impressed."

Inuyasha was surprised to hear an actual compliment come out of her mouth. It took him off guard. "Uh...thanks," he said, unsure of what he should answer.

"Alright," she said, taking off her jacket. "I suppose we can work from books, along with this material. I brought some paper and note cards, so we can star mapping out where we want our arguments to go. But first, I think we should go get some books."

She motioned for him to follow her to a section of the library, which he did. He found cooperating with Kagome and not arguing surprisingly easy after awhile. He had to admit, as much as he didn't want to, that she knew what she was doing.

"What do you have the Dewey decimal system memorized or something?" He asked, as she passed through the many rows of books with certainty.

"No, I'm not that much of a nerd. I've just read up on the subject before. I don't know…I just find it sort of interesting, I guess. It's an important thing to think about," She said, stopping at the correct place. She scanned her eyes over the book titles and stopped to look at a few. She pulled them off the shelf and flipped through them a bit.

"Would you mind carrying the books?" She asked him. He shook his head no. Normally, he would tell her to carry her own damn books, but since he was too indifferent to care, he decided it would be easiest not to care. And to Inuyasha, easiest equaled laziest.

He held out his arms and let her pile book after book onto them. He was about to reach a point where he could no longer see where he was going when he said, "Hey Kagome, If I carry anymore books, I swear I'll ending up killing someone. This many books could flatten a sumo wrestler."

She wanted to laugh at this comment, but chose not to. It was just to weird to get along with Inuyasha that it nearly made her sick.

"You're right. I'm sure we have enough sources to come up with a good argument. Let's go." The began walking back, Inuyasha walking slightly slower than before, due to the weight of the books.

"You know, I'm being selfish. I'll carry some of those," she said, whirling around to face him. She grabbed the first few off of his pile and held lightened the weight from his tiring arms.

"Thanks," he said gratefully.

"You're welcome," she said, a small smile brushing her face. This was by far a new experience for Inuyasha. It was the first time she had smiled at him. Ever. It almost made him feel dizzy. She was so lighthearted and kind to others, and he knew well of it. So why did she have to hate him?

This thought troubled him as they read through the information. He could barely concentrate on what he was reading, and the notes he was writing didn't fully make sense. He was finally relieved of this tension when his stomach led out a large growl. Kagome looked up from the book she was reading and raised her eyebrows at him.

He shrugged sheepishly. "I guess it's lunch time," he said flippantly. She let out a small giggle and nodded.

"I guess so. I was getting hungry myself, but I didn't want to disturb you. You looked so concentrated." Kagome could hardly believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. She could hardly believe the entire situation to be completely honest.

"Well, there's a bakery down the block that has some really nice food. They've got good soup and great sandwiches. It's worth a try," Inuyasha suggested. Kagome nodded.

"That sounds good," she said, another smile appearing on her face. _Why am I smiling at him?_ She thought to herself furiously, _I dislike him! I hate him! What is going on?! Could I have misjudged him too quickly? Was Sango right when she said we just misunderstood each other? _

These and many other questions ran through her head rapidly. He smiled in return, which nearly made her lose her mind. For she couldn't help admitting that without that horribly mean smirk he always gave her, he _was_ extremely attractive.

* * *

Oooh, Kagome's in for it now. Let's just see what happens next chapter…then we'll see if these thoughts stay or go….

Next chapter will have more Miroku/Sango, I promise! I've been trying to get to this part for the last two chapters or so, and I'm sad I had to stop there (but I didn't want it getting to long. Lupine-eyes says my chapters are too long to read… TT)

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!

Lola


	8. Further Surprises

Author's Note: Hi guys! I bet you hate me, don't you? Sorry. I apologize for being so pompous, pig headed and career oriented, but I guess that's high school. I've had lots of stuff to concentrate on, but good news! When I was in our High school's musical (a musical called Starmites, that nobody's EVER heard of) I got some insight.

My co-star, Mike, was a TOTAL ASS. Seriously, he's a strange mix between Inuyasha and Miroku. He's got Miroku's serious problems with perverted ness and Inuyasha's misogynistic attitude (along with so many other qualities) There'd be times, like in the last chapter & this one, where he and I would get along (much like Kagome & Inuyasha) But the majority of the times, we were at each other's throat, since he was always doing things to make me mad.

And then of course there was the kiss.

I shouldn't have to explain this. But I will. Okay, so in the show, there's some romantic interest between my character and his, if you get what I mean. We were so disagreeable that by our dress rehearsals we still weren't doing some of the kisses (also, neither of us really knew how to stage kiss) So, at one point near the end, he full out kisses me (like…big time) It had to be one of my most embarrassing moments of my life (seeing that my family was in the audience watching…) He didn't do it because he liked me. He did it as a cruel, mean tactic to embarrass me.

Well, you really didn't need to know that, but it was worth saying.

I bet you can see why I've had a hard time writing this story lately. I'm trying to get over the personality likeness of Rumiko Takahashi's character and that of my stupid asshole costar (can you feel exactly how much I hate him)

I'll get over it.

Disclaimer: I don't own it, so don't ask.

* * *

Chapter 8: Further Surprises

If someone had told her a week ago that she would be sitting in a bakery having lunch with Inuyasha Taisho, she would have them sent to a psych ward. Now, she sat across from her archrival eating lunch and chit chatting like civilized people.

It was just too weird.

Kagome wanted very badly to ask him why he was acting so differently. She knew, of course, that asking would not do her much good. So, instead she sat there in idle conversation.

"So, about the project," Kagome said, changing the subject, "who are we against again?"

"Takahitsu and Midori, I think. Can't say for sure though." He looked up at her from his soup. "Do you think we'll win?"

She nodded. "I'd say we have a pretty good chance. We've got a strong argument. The information you found was especially helpful." The two talked over the issues in the debate until Kagome sighed contently.

"I suppose we should get back to the library. There's still quite a bit of stuff we've got left to do." She checked her watch. It was currently 1:30. She felt a pang of sadness as she realized the two of them only had an hour left before Inuyasha had to leave. Right as the thought passed through her mind it was trampled by her sense of reason. Sadness? She should be _happy_ he was leaving! What was happening to her?

The next hour was spent, more or less diligently. In any case, time seemed to fly by, until it was 2:30 in the afternoon. Inuyasha frowned at his watch.

"It's 2:30. I've got to go. Sorry Higurashi. I'll see you on Monday." He went to leave when a sudden curiosity overcame her.

"Inuyasha, hold on!" She called he stopped at turned to show that he was listening. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you have to leave early?" She asked, almost cautiously.

"My dad. He's leaving today for a month long business trip to the United States. My mom wants me to be at the airport when he leaves," Inuyasha explained with a shrug of his shoulders. "See ya."

"Goodbye," Kagome said, feeling quite strange as she watched her greatest enemy walk away.

* * *

"So, how was it?" Sango asked Kagome, later that evening.

"Not that bad," Kagome confessed, "we actually got along."

"Really?" Sango asked, intrigued. "I'm surprised! Good job, Kagome!"

"Well, it was more Inuyasha than me. He was being easy going and nice, so it was much easier for me to be nice to him," Kagome insisted. "It was strange, really."

"Well, in any case, I'm happy for you. Things were much different for me and that stupid lecher I have for a partner," Sango said, her words coming out in a low hiss.

"Oh yea, I forgot you had to meet him today too. How'd it go?" Kagome asked.

"Terrible. He spent nearly the entire time flirting with me, trying to get me to make out with him behind a stack of books. I swear to god, that pervert is going to get it. He was so distracting we hardly got any work done!" Sango explained, exasperatedly.

"I'm sorry," Kagome said sympathetically, "but hey, maybe it will get better. Maybe if you asked him just to stop-"

"I've tried it. It doesn't work," She sighed, "nothing really seems to work."

"I couldn't really tell you what to do," Kagome said honestly, "I've never really had it happen to me. Maybe all you guys need is a little time away from each other."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Sango asked uncertainly. "I mean, we're partners in English. He's in quite a few of my classes, you know that? How do I take a break from him?"

"I don't know," Kagome admitted, "I wish it were possible."

* * *

"So it went well, then?" Inuyasha asked drearily, listening to Miroku talk.

"Of course. Inuyasha, that girl is amazing. Even if she is a bit violent…" Inuyasha could hear Miroku wince slightly. "I must have gotten slapped at least 15 times."

"Well, how many times did you grab her ass?" Inuyasha asked.

"20."

"Then she's generous," Inuyasha said, shaking his head, "if it were me, not only would I be grossed out, but you'd be a dead man."

"Yea, well speaking of dead men, how come you're not?" Miroku asked.

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha asked tiredly.

"Well, didn't you have to work on your stuff with Kagome?" Miroku asked.

"Oh, _that_," Inuyasha said. "It was absolutely horrible." Immediately after he had said it, he wished to take it back. What he had said was a blatant lie. He hadn't really minded spending that time with Kagome.

"Really?" Miroku asked, amused. "She was that bad, huh?"

"Yea," Inuyasha said, before he could stop himself. "She was really annoying and bossy. I hate working with her."

Inuyasha could hardly believe all the false tales he was feeding Miroku. It was making him sick. "Hey Miroku, I've got a lot of homework. I'll call you back later, okay?"

"Yea," Miroku agreed, "but after you finish you're math homework, would you mind calling me up and giving me all the answers."

Inuyasha laughed. "Sure, Miroku."

The two hung up.

Inuyasha sat in stillness, reviewing what he had just told Miroku on the phone.

Why had he done that?

Pride. That's all it was. He didn't want to admit to anyone but himself that he had actually gotten along with Kagome.

Because Inuyasha Taisho always won.

* * *

When Monday morning came, Kagome was less reluctant to go to school, knowing that it was possible for her and Inuyasha to get along. Perhaps, now that they had attempted it once, they could possibly remain in each other's favor. Kagome mused over the idea of her and Inuyasha being friends. It was an awkward thought.

She met Sango somewhere along the way, and greeted her cheerfully.

"Well, this is surprising. Kagome, cheerful on a Monday morning?" Sango said teasingly. "What's making your day?"

"Nothing really," Kagome said, "It's just much easier knowing that when I get to school I won't have to deal with Inuyasha being a jerk. We got along on Saturday, so I hope we can at least keep on good terms. Is that foolish of me, Sango?"

Sango shook her head. "Not really. It's actually quite a nice thought, the two of you getting along. You know that your little brawl has been going on for nearly a month now?"

"Has it really been that long?" Kagome asked. "It's almost October already?"

Sango nodded with a laugh. "You're getting behind, Kagome. Usually it takes until January for that to happen."

"I don't know what it is. Freshman year didn't go this fast," Kagome sighed. "Maybe it's this integration of the high schools. So many new people."

"Could be," Sango said, shrugging.

"Hey, have you heard from Rin?" Kagome asked. Sango shook her head sadly.

"Not a word. It worries me. She hasn't been at school in a few days. I really hope she's back today."

"I wish she would just show us where her house is! At least then we could go visit her or something," Kagome mumbled.

"Maybe she has pneumonia," Sango suggested.

"Too early in the season for that."

"Mono?"

"Rin? Mono? You've got to be kidding me," Kagome said shaking her head, "That's about as likely as a nun getting an STD."

"Hey, you never know," Sango said, "She could have a boyfriend we don't know about. God knows what she doesn't tell us about."

"True, she does seem to hide a lot," Kagome agreed, "but I don't think she'd hide that. A boyfriend isn't a bad thing, after all. If only I had one."

"Yea, that goes for both of us," Sango laughed. "Do you remember the promise we made each other when we were eight? We had to get boyfriends at the exact same time."

"I remember. But then again, we said that about a lot of things," Kagome said recalling back. "We thought we were going to get our periods at the exact same time too."

"Yea, we were pretty stupid," Sango concluded. She looked at her watch and said, "Okay, we have to hurry. At this rate we're walking at, we'll be late!"

The two girls hurried down the sidewalk, hoping to make it in time.

* * *

"Did you finish all your homework?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Rin nodded. "Yup. I'm glad you've got access to that kind of stuff."

"Yes well, student council president is allowed to make request for missing work," he said, impassively. As Sesshoumaru drove, Rin sat in silence (which was very unusual). She had many questions buzzing around inside her, and it was hard to keep them in.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Yes?"

"Am I not aloud to talk to you at school?" She asked, "because I can completely understand, since I'm a nobody and I no longer live in the Shinikwa district-"

"Yes Rin, you are allowed to talk to me at school," he said tiredly, "at opportune moments. Around Inuyasha, or possibly your own friends, would not be a very good idea."

"Would I embarrass you in front of your friends?" Rin asked.

"I don't really care much for people," Sesshoumaru said, "so I don't have what you consider friends. More…acquaintances."

"Well, your acquaintances, then. Would I embarrass you in front of them?" Rin asked.

"I would prefer that you wouldn't."

The rest of the car ride was in silence. Sesshoumaru had agreed to drive Rin to school everyday, seeing that she herself did not have a car (or her license yet, for that matter). Inuyasha was still unaware of her presence at their house, which was always a good sign. Inuyasha had turned sixteen shortly after the school year began and was already driving one of his father's many cars. Rin was glad she didn't have to have any contact with him whatsoever, since she knew what trouble he caused Kagome.

"Have you thought of a story to tell your friends?" Sesshoumaru asked her as he parked the car.

"Yea. My uncle is gone on an urgent and important business trip in Europe and I'm staying with some close friends. He's got someone watching the house for him, so I needn't check up on it."

"And why weren't you in school this last week?"

"I was staying with a distant relative out of town, which was the original plan, but their ten-year-old son came down with a bad case of tuberculosis and they figured I should stay elsewhere until he got better," Rin said, lying flawlessly.

"That sounds convincing," Sesshoumaru agreed. Rin smiled.

"Good to hear. I just hope my friends will buy it."

* * *

Just as she had hoped, Kagome and Sango bought her story. Rin felt bad for lying to her friends, but she needed to keep the truth safe. It didn't feel right to tell people about it. _After all,_ thought Rin, _it's not that big of a deal._

The three strolled into math class, chatting happily. Kagome spotted Miroku and Inuyasha on their way as well. She got the sudden urge to go speak with them, although she had nothing to say. She more than ever wanted to show off her new patience and understanding of Inuyasha.

She set down her things on her desk and walked over to them.

"Hey Inuyasha," she asked, "would it be alright with you to meet at the library again this Saturday to do more research?"

She expected him to oblige with a smile, as he had easily done on Saturday. She was most defiantly wrong.

"Why? Didn't we do enough research already?" He scoffed.

"Well, we did quite a bit but it still needs more-" she began, but was interrupted.

"Then do it yourself! Can't you see I'm a bit busy?" Inuyasha snapped, surprising her further.

She quickly covered her confused and hurt emotions with a glare. "Fine. I'll see you in English class, **_partner_**," she emphasized the word harshly and walked away crossly. She walked back to Sango and Rin and said tautly, "I was wrong. Whatever happened on Saturday was a total fluke. Inuyasha Taisho is a total jerk and always will be."

* * *

I want to update soon. I want to update soon REALLY BADLY. Stupid high school.

Review and I shall reply with posts! Mwaha!

Lola


	9. Attempted Amends

* * *

Lola: Ha! Another chapter! In ONE DAY! MWAHAHAHA! Although, I'm tired. It's bedtime. I have school tomorrow, so I'll shut up.

Disclaimer: I don't own it, so don't ask. :'(

* * *

Chapter 9 – Attempted Amends

* * *

Kagome sat in a complete daze at lunch, barely touching her food.

"Kagome? Are you okay? Do want to go home?" Rin said, looking at her with concern.

"Yea," Sango agreed, "You haven't even _touched_ your Oden. There must be something wrong."

Kagome shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Just not hungry that's all."

"Not hungry for **Oden**?" Sango asked skeptically. Kagome shrugged.

In honesty, she wasn't in much of a mood for even her most favorite of meals. She was too confused about her conversation with Inuyasha that morning.

**_FLASHBACK_**

"_Hey Inuyasha," she asked, "would it be alright with you to meet at the library again this Saturday to do more research?"_

_She expected him to oblige with a smile, as he had easily done on Saturday. She was most defiantly wrong._

"_Why? Didn't we do enough research already?" He scoffed._

"_Well, we did quite a bit but it still needs more-" she began, but was interrupted._

"_Then do it yourself! Can't you see I'm a bit busy?" Inuyasha snapped, surprising her further._

_She quickly covered her confused and hurt emotions with a glare. "Fine. I'll see you in English class, **partner**," she emphasized the word harshly and walked away crossly. _

_**FLASHBACK**_

****

"Jackass," Kagome said, seething.

"What?" Sango said, "I didn't know that you'd be upset that I wasn't able to walk home with you."

Kagome flushed pink and shook her head, "Oh, sorry! Sango, I wasn't talking to you. I was thinking about that jerk Inuyasha. What were you saying?"

"I said that I've got to stay after school and make up a science lab. My lab partner put in .10 too much sodium bicarbonate," Sango said, shaking her head. "The whole thing exploded on us. I got hydrochloric acid all over my hand."

"Alright, I'm fine walking home," Kagome said.

"Why does Inuyasha bother you so much?" Rin asked her.

"Because he's such a cruel person! His idea of a joke is anyone else's idea of complete and utter misery." Kagome put her head in her hands, "and to think, I thought there was just an ounce of good in him!"

"Well, he can't be all that bad," Rin said with a shrug, "I mean, Sesshoumaru isn't."

Immediately after she said it, Rin regretted it. This wasn't something she was at liberty to share.

Sango raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So you and Sesshoumaru Taisho, president of the Junior class, have contact? I'm interested."

"Well, I'm staying at their house," Rin reminded.

"What's it like living under the same roof as Inuyasha?" Kagome asked. "If it were me, I'd wish I was out of their as soon as possible."

"Actually, I haven't had the pleasure of running into him yet. The house is real big. He probably doesn't even know I'm staying there yet. He's never around anyway," Rin trailed on, still edgy about the fact that she had nearly blown her cover yet again.

"So what's Sesshoumaru like?" Sango asked.

"As you'd expect. Pretty distant. He's not a people person. But I like staying there," Rin told them.

"I would rather eat the cafeteria food than stay in that house," Kagome said, shaking her head. "I just can't believe that conceded son of a bitch!"

"Kagome, I think you need to chill out," Sango said with a laugh, "you're about to snap one of your chopsticks."

"Still," she said, setting her chopsticks down (safely), "I can't believe I thought there was something else beyond that attitude of his. I must have been delusional on Saturday."

_**FLASHBACK**_

_Kagome wanted very badly to ask him why he was acting so differently. She knew, of course, that asking would not do her much good. So, instead she sat there in idle conversation._

"_So, about the project," Kagome said, changing the subject, "who are we against again?"_

"_Takahitsu and Midori, I think. Can't say for sure though." He looked up at her from his soup. "Do you think we'll win?"_

_She nodded. "I'd say we have a pretty good chance. We've got a strong argument. The information you found was especially helpful."_

_**FLASHBACK**_

"He was such a nice guy," she said, almost in a daze, "almost as if he was a different person."

"Maybe it wasn't Inuyasha. Maybe he's got some sort of alter-ego issues and the good part only comes out on a Saturday," Sango said sarcastically, taking a drink of her milk.

"Why Saturday?" Rin asked.

"No school."

* * *

Kagome thought to herself as she walked home alone. It didn't necessarily bother her, but with a lot on her mind right now, it would be good to have Sango around.

"Stupid idiot!" She said suddenly in anger, kicking a soda can on the side walk. It flew quite a distance and landed ahead with a loud noise.

"I'd hate to see you kick a soccer ball," came a wincing voice. Kagome groaned.

"GO AWAY!" She said, knowing who it was without even turning around.

"Why are you so mean?" Inuyasha asked catching up to her, "I was just walking behind you, that's all. There's no need to start yelling at me."

"I'm mean?" She said, not believing what she was hearing, "you are the biggest jerk I know! You get me into a ton of trouble, you embarrass me by putting GLUE on my chair-"

"Hey, you have to admit that it was funny," Inuyasha objected.

"Yea, maybe if it was your ass on the chair!" Kagome said, pointing a finger.

Inuyasha gasped. "I don't think I've ever heard little Kagome Higurashi swear! I can't believe it! Do we need to wash your mouth out with soap?"

She ignored him and continued walking.

"Higurashi, I was kidding," he said, catching up to her again.

She didn't listen to him, only continued on.

He stepped in front of her and blocked her from continuing. "Didn't you hear me? I said I'm kidding-"

"Well you know, you're not funny! What you say and do is hurtful! You find horrible ways to embarrass me and make me look stupid in front of a very large group of people! That's not funny," she looked at him seriously and he realized that she was upset.

"Look, I came to apologize. I was rude today-"

"Aren't you always?" She interrupted. He glared at her.

"Are you gonna let me finish?" He asked. She was silent. "As I was saying, it wasn't a good time. Miroku forgot some stuff at home and we had to start all over on our math project." His golden eyes looked at her apologetically. Looking into them made her feel numb. She shook it off.

"Stop making excuses, because I'm not gonna buy it," Kagome told him, trying to shove past him.

"Kagome."

She stopped and looked it him. He didn't usually call her by her first name.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. Really."

She sighed. "Alright. I forgive you. But next time, good time or not, I'm gonna call you on it."

* * *

In the meantime, Sango was not having such a fun time with her science lab.

"Why, of ALL people, of ALL science labs, do you have to be here when I am?" Sango asked herself, shooting a glance at Miroku. He shrugged.

"Sango, I didn't MEAN to screw up a chemistry lab! It just happens!" Miroku insisted.

"Well don't do it again. I can't afford another screw up or my grade is toast," She put on a pair of safety goggles, along with a plastic apron. Miroku followed suit.

"Sango, I want you to know that you can trust me. I won't screw up, I promise," he insisted, trailing behind her.

She laughed. "You want me to trust you? Right. Like that'd work. I turn my back and your hand is on my ass."

"That's not true! I've only done so a few times, and I must admit, you have a gorgeous ass-" She cleared her throat and he stopped.

"My point is, you can trust me in this lab. I promise."

"Good, now go get me the hydrochloric acid and the potassium nitrate," she said, not exactly listening to him.

"What are we doing again?" He asked.

"Observing Chemical bonds."

"Oh." He was silent for a moment. "We should bond."

"What was that?" She asked, looking at him quizzically.

_Now's the time, ask her out,_ a voice inside his head told him. But his nerve failed him.

"I said we should bond, meaning let's get started. We don't want to be here all night, do we?"

She shrugged and began to add chemicals. He put his hand to his head and thought to himself _Miroku, you idiot!_

_

* * *

_

_It isn't sneaking_, Rin told herself, _it's more or less **exploring**_.

Rin had always had a curious bit in her, and now it was about to get her into trouble.

She had put on a maid uniform Tadako had lent her (for cases like this) in order to avoid suspicion. Her bruises were fully gone and she had her hair up in a full ponytail for the first time in a long while.

"Hey you, maid!" A voice called.

Rin stiffened and turned around.

"Yes?" She kept her head bent low.

"I have a bunch of laundry that needs to be run. Could you start a load?" Inuyasha dictated, not really looking at who he was talking to. He made a list of a few other things needed and then added "Got all that?"

Rin nodded.

"Good."

She made her way down the hallway and got nearly out of his site before he said, "Wait a minute. Come back here."

Flinching, she did so.

"You're the new maid, but you look really familiar. What's your name?"

She didn't answer for a moment.

He frowned and looked at her more closely. Suddenly, it clicked.

Rin Makino.

A girl from his high school.

One of Kagome's friends.

"What in gods name are YOU doing in my house dressed like a maid?" He asked suspiciously.

"I..uh, well."

"Inuyasha, let me explain," a calm voice came. Sesshoumaru floated in casually and looked at Rin.

"It's a long story. Can I make it short?"

"No. I want the entire thing," Inuyasha said, glaring at his half brother.

"She's staying here as a guest. That's all you NEED to know." He stopped and turned to Rin. "Rin, go back to your room and just ignore this idiot. It's alright."

"No, it's not!" Inuyasha said, "Now I want to know the story behind this right now or I'll-"

Irritated, Sesshoumaru grabbed Inuyasha and dragged him to a separate room. "She was from a broken family, Inuyasha. She used to live a few houses away, remember? Then her parents died and she moved in with her uncle, who treated her negligently and beat her. Would you want anyone to suffer through that?" He calmed down a bit. "Inuyasha, the only thing I told my father and," he stopped, "**_her_**, is that I hired a new maid. Now father's away on business and your mother is leaving as well. So there isn't much you can to about it anyway. I'm asking you to_ please_ keep it between us."

Inuyasha was silent for a moment. Then he looked at Sesshoumaru with a smirk. "Man, you must really have the hots for this girl."

"Thank you, Inuyasha, you can go now." Sesshoumaru said, ignoring him.

As he left, he said, "She's not even all that good looking anyway."

Sesshoumaru knocked on Rin's door. She opened it and let him come in, grateful.

"I hope you don't mind, but I had to tell Inuyasha."

"And?"

"He's promised not to tell."

Rin let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. But so much for him not finding out." She shrugged. "That's alright. As long as he keeps it a secret."

"Oh yes, and he's planning a Christmas party. Now that our parents are out of town, he's completely set on it. Feel free to invite your friends, since they know you're staying here."

"Alright." She smiled. "Thank you for saving me. You do it way to often."

He just shook his head.

"You know one day I'm going to pay you back," she said as he left.

He turned and looked at her. "Just knowing that I changed somebody's life is payment enough."

* * *

"A Christmas Party?" Kagome asked skeptically. It was a few days later.

Rin nodded. "Yup. And both of you are invited. Sesshoumaru told me to invite friends, and there's no one else I'd rather invite."

"Well that's very kind," Sango said.

"And flattering," Kagome added.

"Will you come?" Rin asked hopefully.

"I think I'll be able to stand Inuyasha for one night, so long as it makes you happy," Kagome said thoughtfully. Rin hugged them both.

"Thank you! You're the greatest friends I've ever had!" Rin said happily.

"Say, how are things between you and Inuyasha?" Sango asked. "Any better?"

"Off an on. One moment he'll be pleasant, the next he's throwing insults at me. I don't know what to expect anymore." She sighed. "And with the debates on Friday, I don't even know how we're going to make it through."

"Don't worry about it," Sango said, assuring her. "You make it through everything. It's called making amends with life."

* * *

I'm done. Not much more to say, other than I'm really looking forward to the next chapter. It's by far my favorite (can you have favorite chapters? Oo)Anyway, good night!I love you guys anddon't forget to review!

Lola


	10. The Christmas Party

See, I told you I'd put it up soon : ) It looks like I'm not getting many reviews on Bright and Beautiful right now, so why not put up the chapter I've been waiting for/**grins**/ I love it And yea I know the likeliness of them actuallycelebrating Christianity over Taoism or Budism is slim, I'll decide to be ignorant of that for once and go along on the little facade that I'm right... heh.

Disclaimer:I don't own Inuyasha or it's characters. Rumiko Takahashi is a genius.

Enjoy :)

* * *

Chapter 10 – The Christmas Party 

"Kagome, are you almost ready?" A voice came from outside her bedroom. It was Her mother.

"Just a second!" Both Sango and Kagome called from inside. She had spent all night deciding what to wear. Since it was a Christmas party, she decided on a slender red dress that found its way down to the floor. It was simple, yet was classy. She had avoided the mirror all night. Sango, who had done her hair and makeup, refused to let anyone see Kagome until she was completely finished.

"Ok, I'm all done." Sango said, backing away and looking at her. "Great. I did a good job, if I don't say so myself."

Kagome took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked…different. Sango had curled her hair with large rollers, leaving it in nice ringlets. She had on just a touch of makeup, but not enough to make noticeable.

"Sango," she breathed, her voice barely audible, "you're wonderful." Sango smiled brightly at the compliment.

"No problem. I'm glad you let me pamper you that much. The dress looks great! You did a good job picking it out," Sango said, squeezing her shoulder.

"Sango, don't kid me. You look gorgeous yourself," Kagome pointed out.

It was true: Sango did look gorgeous. She was wearing a knee length black dress and her hair up in an intricate bun. The dress tied together at the nape of her neck, leaving her shoulders and back completely bare. A small gold pendant hung around her neck, matching her dangling earrings. Kagome was relieved that Sango had put on at least a touch of makeup, since she hadn't worn any in so long. Sango had always been beautiful, but had lately decided to stop showing it. Kagome found it a relief to find her friend looking as resplendent as she used to.

"Are you ready now?" Her mother asked again, startling both girls instantly.

Kagome giggled, then said, "I suppose."

She opened the door and walked out to show her mother. At first she felt uneasy as her mother eyed her up and down a few times.

"You look lovely girls. Both of you," She hugged her daughter tightly and sighed, "I can't believe this. I'm allowing you to go to a Christmas party, where there will probably be alcohol, mistletoe and goodness knows what other illegal substances there."

Kagome and Sango glanced at each other uneasily. Since when had mistletoe been an illegal substance?

"Okay girls," her mother smiled, "time to go, I suppose. Do you have the invitation, Kagome?" Kagome nodded and handed her the "invitation" Rin had given her. Her mother looked slightly worried, but tried to cover it was a smile. But both Sango and Kagome saw through it.

"Don't worry mom, we'll be careful. It's not like we'll be doing anything you wouldn't approve of," Kagome said in an assuring tone. '_Other than going to this party in the first place,_' she thought as an afterthought.

The trip there was quite silent. An awkward kind of silent, mind you. Sango and Kagome fidgeted uncomfortably as Kagome's mom tried hard not to turn around and take both girls home. As a mother, she didn't like the idea of the party, even if it was at a good friend's house. If only she knew who else lived in this house….

They followed the directions until they reached the court, where it was impossible to get any further due to all the cars. It wasn't surprising that after they got into the Shinikwa district of the city, the houses seemed to get larger and fancier with each block they passed.

"I think you can drop us off here, Mom. There's only 5 or so houses in the court, we'll be able to narrow it down."

"Call me when you need a ride home," She said as they got out of the car.

"Ok, thanks Mom!" Kagome and Sango waved as she drove off.

"What's the number again?" Sango asked.

"1532," Kagome answered, reading off of the invitation. "Ok, so it's…this one right here."

The two girls stared at the house in awe.

"Are you sure this is the right house?" Sango asked. Kagome nodded.

"That's what it says on the invitation," She checked again.

"You know Inuyasha could have been joking. Just to make a fool out of us," Sango said negatively. Kagome shook her head.

"Rin told us herself. This is their house," She said.

"Why is she living with them again?" Sango asked, confused.

"Her Uncle's on business. Apparently he's a friend of the family, who agreed to care for her while he was away."

Sango nodded, not quite paying attention. Her heart hammering against her ribcage preoccupied her, threatening to burst out at any second. "Shall we?" She asked, taking a deep breath. Kagome nodded.

"Yea. No use standing outside." She reached out a shaking hand and rung the doorbell. The door suddenly opened, and Rin stood, wearing a party dress and a Santa hat.

"Come in guys! I've taken duty of answering the door. Of course, I can't even get in a decent conversation without being interrupted every few seconds." Kagome laughed, Rin was always so spirited, even more so at Christmas.

Her hair was still in a half pony, but was decorated by a large white bow. Her dress was green, and had small frills at the bottoms, where it touched her knees. She had no makeup on, but looked beautiful just by being her regular exuberant self.

Rin lead them into a room filled with guests, many from school. They chatted happily amongst themselves while Christmas carols played softly in the background. Kagome and Sango had hardly any time to notice: they were too busy looking around at the large house.

"I knew Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were wealthy, but nobody said how wealthy," Kagome whispered to Sango, who nodded in reply.

"Don't be so shy guys. Join the party!" Rin said happily, leading them into the pandemonium of noise.

"Merry Christmas to you, ladies!" Miroku said, slipping by them. He gave them all a look over, but his eyes settled deeply on Sango. She was glowing. "You look gorgeous tonight Sango," he complimented, going slightly closer than what she would have wanted.

"T-thank you," she stuttered, before freezing in her place. He had touched her butt yet again. She turned bright red and yelled, "Miroku, you asshole! Could you cut it out for one day!" He gave her a small lecherous smile.

"Sorry Sango, I couldn't resist. You're just so beautiful and irresistible." Scowling, she kicked his shin as he walked away.

"A little untraditional," Kagome commented. "You didn't slap him."

Sango shrugged. "He was walking away, I figured I'd go for something more painful. Being Christmas and all. Heels hurt more than my hands." She clenched her fists as she saw him in the corner of the room, mingling with other girls. '_That Jerk! Who does he think he is anyway, groping me then acting like it was no big deal as long as he got to flirt with other girls!_' She scowled. He would pay for it, one way or another.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Sango said suddenly, "Rin, could you…sorta show me where it is? I have no clue." Rin nodded happily, and waved goodbye to Kagome.

"We'll be back in a minute," She promised.

Kagome sighed. Why did her friends have to leave her alone right now? She shrugged and reached for a glass of punch.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," A voice said softly.

"Huh?" She asked, turning around. It was Inuyasha, with a classic smirk sprawling his striking face. He was slightly shocked to see that it was Kagome he was talking to. Firstly, because she actually came to _his_ party in the first place. Secondly, he had barely recognized her. He quickly regained his cool before Kagome could even notice he had lost it.

"Miroku spiked it about half an hour ago," He said lazily. "Unless that is, you **want** to get buzzed. But I don't suggest that. It would ruin your goody two shoes reputation." She glared at him in reply. If it weren't for Rin's pleading for her presence, she wouldn't even be here.

"Oh screw off," She said, walking past him.

"Merry Christmas to you too," He said, shrugging it off. She was such a pain. Yet he couldn't help but admit tonight she was a very _attractive_ pain…

More than anything, Kagome wanted to find Sango and Rin. Even in a very large room, she felt uneasy surrounded by all these people, most of them people she had never met. She was nearly relieved when she spotted Miroku and ran up to him.

"You're here enough, where's the bathroom?" He looked at her, confused for a moment, then put on a sly grin.

"Are you finally heating up to me, Kagome dear?" He slid his arm around her shoulder. "I don't see you as the type to be so naughty. How unexpected!"

Kagome rolled her eyes and took his hand off of her shoulder.

"I have to find Sango and Rin," She said, glaring at him. He raised his eyebrows surprisingly.

"They're in the bathroom, together? I would have never guessed, this I must see!" He clapped his hands together contently. Kagome scowled.

"Not together, moron! Rin had to show Sango to the bathroom, now tell me where it is!"

He sighed in discontent and answered.

"You're not much fun. Go up the stairs, to your right, take a left at the end of that hallway, then a right, and it's the last door to your right at the end of _that_ hallway." She jumbled the instructions around.

"Something about the last door at the end, gotcha. Thanks Miroku," She patted his shoulder and walked away. He shook his head. Girls. Speaking of, he went back to the one's he was talking to.

* * *

Rin lead Sango to the bathroom quite easily, as if she'd been living there for years. Sango could hardly take in all that she saw on the way there. When they actually reached the bathroom, Sango would be surprised not to find a gold toilet on the other side of the bathroom door. (She was even more surprised not to find a couple making out on the other side of the door…) 

"Thanks," She said gratefully.

Rin nodded. "Sure. Not a problem. I'll wait for you out here so you can find your way back."

Sango smiled and closed the door. She immediately wiped the look of gratitude off her face the instant she entered the bathroom. She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. How would she make it through the night avoiding Miroku? Oh how she hated him. Well, maybe not him exactly, but more the way he treated her. Everything he did disgusted her to no end. He had proved many times over that she meant nothing to him. 'I swear, if he touches my ass again,' she thought, but stopped. Nothing was helping. What would she do if he did? Hurting him certainly didn't work. Practically nothing did. She sat down on the counter and heaved a sigh. She would try her best.

After going to the bathroom, she left. Rin was still waiting outside.

"What do you say we find Kagome?" She asked. Sango nodded.

"Let's hope she hasn't gotten herself into too much trouble," Sango said, a sudden image of Kagome strangling Inuyasha popped into her mind. It wasn't that pleasant of an idea. They rushed down stairs, meeting Kagome halfway.

"What were you doing up here?" They asked her.

"I was looking for you guys. But I got lost," She said, looking sheepish, "Too many directions."

Rin laughed. "It's hard to find things at first, I'll admit. But I like it here. I've grown accustomed to it so quickly. It'll be sad when my uncle comes back."

"You mean you actually enjoy living under the same roof as Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, completely stunned. She shrugged.

"He's not around all that often," She said truthfully. "He's out doing other stuff. With Miroku and everything. In fact, the house is generally empty. 'Cept for Sesshoumaru-sama, who sits in his room. Or his 'study'." She quote un-quoted her fingers when she said this.

"What's his study?" Sango asked. Rin shrugged.

"Never seen it. Supposedly his own special room, with all his secret stuff or something. He's in there half of the time. The other half is in his bedroom. _That_ I've only seen once. In fact, that's probably where he is now. He never liked the idea of a Christmas party."

Suddenly, the talking stopped and Inuyasha's loud voice could be heard from the other room.

"He's making an announcement, come on," Rin said, leading them down the stairs hurriedly. But, ironically, they had missed everything he had said, despite his obnoxiously loud voice.

"What do you think the announcement was about?" Kagome asked. Sango shrugged.

"Go ask him," she said nudging her. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"That's stupid. I'm not going to go ask him what he said. He's gong to treat me with the same attitude he always does, with the bonus of calling me an idiot for not hearing him in the first place."

Sango shrugged. "Then I guess we'll just never find out. Who knows what it could have been." This irritated Kagome to no extent.

"Fine," she said, looking around for a sight of Inuyasha.

"But maybe I just won't tell you then," She smirked, as she spotted him. "Hey, Inuyasha!" She called, shoving passed people. He turned, but looked slightly disappointed it was her who called his name.

"What?" He asked bluntly. Kagome stopped. This was a bad idea.

"I was just wondering…" She stopped mid-sentence, feeling uncomfortable.

"What?" He asked, sounding irritable. He tried to hide his amusement when he saw her at such a loss for words. He did not fail to notice the pink tint that swept across her cheeks.

"Kagome!" A voice interrupted.

"What?" she asked, turning to see an exasperated Rin.

"Mistletoe!" She pointed overhead.

'_Oh no. Oh hell no._' Kagome thought, wishing there was some way out of this. Unfortunately, Rin had spoken a little too loudly, and people began to look at the two of them.

Inuyasha could feel his heartbeat quicken: He was never good under pressure. He didn't want to kiss Kagome, did he? He knew there was no way in hell Kagome would let him kiss her in front of all these people. Yet that made the idea all the more tempting, embarrassing her in front of everyone. His palms were damp with perspiration. Mentally, he readied himself. The thought of kissing her was unnerving; something inside of desperately wanted to see exactly what it felt like. She suddenly shoved him backward slightly, before he could move an inch. No one breathed.

"Uh," She stuttered. "I…eh…" She shoved passed him quickly and ran out of the room. Everyone stood in stunned silence, unable to believe that a girl had actually run away from the chance of kissing Inuyasha.

"Oh no," Sango whispered, unable to stand the tension. Spotting a glass of punch on the table, she quickly swatted it onto the floor, causing it to break. Heads turned, leaving enough time for Inuyasha to escape their view.

He quickly dashed around the corner. His face was red with embarrassment. The nerve of that girl! How could she embarrass him in front of everyone at HIS Christmas party! He would make her pay. His heart rate began to lower, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that had all the sudden filled him. Why? Why did he have that commanding urge to lean in and kiss her? He hated her! '_Something's got to be messing with my mind. Maybe Miroku spiked the punch earlier than I thought…_'

* * *

Kagome made a mad dash for the door, but unluckily for her, was stopped. "Kagome!" Sango said in a urged whisper, grabbing her arms, "get a hold of yourself!" Kagome turned to look at her, her face drained of all color. 

"We're leaving. We have to. I can't stay after that. I just can't." Kagome pleaded her.

"Kagome, don't say that. Do you know what you just did? You refused to kiss him! You're probably the only person who's everdone that. **Ever**. If you leave, everyone will start talking about how nuts you are. If you stay…you'll look brave. It's basically like saying 'I turned down Inuyasha and I'm proud of it'. Think of it as pay back for all the pranks he's played on you."

She stood silently thinking for a moment, then said ever so quietly, "Well, I suppose that it wouldn't be so bad." Then she smiled. "I'm not going to let it ruin my evening. It'd disappoint Rin if I did." Sango patted her shoulder.

"That's the spirit!"

"And besides," She added as an afterthought, "it'd kill Inuyasha."

* * *

A small knock emitted from the other side of the room. 

"Sesshoumaru-sama, may I come in? " Rin asked cautiously.

"Yes Rin." He answered, not looking up from his book. She cracked the door open slightly and poked her head in.

"Hey, you coming out of here anytime soon?" He shook his head in reply. The hopeful smile on Rin's face flickered slightly.

"Why not?" She asked innocently. He shrugged.

"It's Inuyasha's party. I hardly want to be involved. I…appreciate your concern Rin, but I'm fine. I'm not very fond of crowds."

"Oh…alright. I also wanted to tell you, Kagome invited me to spend the night at her house afterwards. Is that alright with you?"

"Yes, that's fine."

"Thank you very much!" She said happily. When he did not reply, she said in a softer, calmer tone, "Well, enjoy yourself Sesshoumaru-sama." She closed the door and sighed. Why didn't he ever want to join the rest of society? Although, she pondered, the more important question was, when was he ready?

* * *

For the rest of the night, rumors spread like wildfire among the house. All, no doubt, about Kagome's rejection of Inuyasha. She had decided to take Sango's advice and stayed, which in itself was reason for gossip. The second Inuyasha saw her, he darted off into another room, blushing heartily. It was surprising that he seemed to be gone for the rest of the evening. 

"Where do you suppose he snuck off to?" Kagome asked thoughtfully, popping a pretzel in her mouth. Sango shrugged.

"You probably bruised his ego by rejecting him, and what's worse, staying. He probably couldn't handle it. I wouldn't be surprised if he's sulking in his bedroom right now."

"Or making out with the first girl he could get his hands on," Kagome said dryly.

"No, that'd be Miroku," Sango replied, rolling her eyes.

"Sango, I'm hurt, I didn't think you thought that badly of me," a voice said, a fake tone of concern lining his words. She turned to Miroku, reluctant to start a conversation with him.

"Well, it's true, isn't it?" She said simply. He shrugged.

"I don't go around kissing every girl I see, do I? I mean, I've never kissed YOU, have I?" Sango's face didn't lose any of its seriousness as he said this. Then he blatantly stated, "Of course, you probably haven't had your first kiss yet, have you?" She was taken unexpected as he said this, and turned pink.

"I- I never s-" she began before Miroku put a finger to her lips and made a small 'tsking' sound. "I'm surprised Sango. Then again, you are the type to kick any guy's ass if they even laid a finger on you. I'm familiar with that. Say, Is that mistletoe?" He asked, looking overhead. Sango did indeed look, long enough for him to remove his finger and kiss her gently.

Sango had no time to react between the when he had kissed her and when their lips had parted. She stared at him, wide eyed and embarrassed. "Well, now I can take those statements back," he said, a coy smile appearing on his face. With that, he left Sango standing there, shocked and dismayed. Luckily no one had been watching, not even Kagome, who was to busy munching on pretzels to notice.

"Kagome," Sango broke the silence. Kagome turned her head to Sango, out of her trance.

"What?"

Sango's cheeks burned with embarrassment as she muttered, "I think I'm reading to go home now." Kagome nodded.

"Yea, I think I'm ready to go home. Let's go find Rin," she said, a very quiet Sango in tow.

* * *

Ha ha! One down, two to go! Sorry Sango had to break the ice, but I don't think the Rin/Sess relationship has matured enough and of course, Kagome and Inuyasha will be the last : ) 

I would REALLY REALLY REALLY appreciate it if you gave me comments on this chapter. What you liked/disliked about it, things that could've been better, etc. Thanks SO much.

Love you all! Thanks so much for reading my story- It's a real confidence boost.

Lola


	11. Suprise Packages

Hey, arn't you glad I've been writing? I sure am. I've been crazy busy and I've really missed writing this story. But hey, I've come up with some good ideas and hopefully they'll come into play. Sorry to say, but this chapter is more a filler than anything. An important event/cliffhanger at the end (you're forwarned) but the rest is just "blah blah blah?" "blah blah blah blah, blah blah." "blah blah blah blah blah!"

But enjoy anyway. : )

* * *

Chapter 11 – Surprise Packages

"Thank you for letting us sleep over, Mrs. Higurashi," Rin said graciously. Mrs. Higurashi looked at the girls fondly.

"I'm so very glad you could come. Although I've never met you properly. You're name is Rin…am I right?"

Rin nodded happily. "Uh huh. Rin Makino. I met Kagome and Sango at the beginning of the school year. Up till then, I used to go to school in the Shinikwa district, until the merger."

When the car pulled up in the driveway, the girls got out and went inside. Everyone was sleeping, so they quietly tip toed upstairs to Kagome's room. When they where inside, Kagome shut the door and sighed.

"What a night," She said, collapsing on her bed. Rin nodded in reply, sitting down in a chair.

"No kidding. What'd you think Sango?" Sango shrugged. Kagome had noticed she was quiet. Usually, after a party like that, Sango would be the only one left with energy…

"Sango, are you alright? You seem abnormally quiet. Abnormally being the key word," Kagome said. Rin nodded.

"I noticed it too…did something bad happen?"

Sango was silent for a moment, but suddenly said, "Kagome, remember when we were kids, and we bet over who would get their first kiss first?" Kagome nodded.

"Yea…why?"

"You owe me five dollars."

Kagome gasped in disbelief. "Are you serious! You really did? Wow!" Sango sighed.

"Kagome, you're making too big a deal out of it. You're sounding I won the lottery."

"Well, you're five dollars richer," Rin suggested.

Kagome wouldn't stop there. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Who was it!" Kagome asked in a squeal of excitement.

Sango was reluctant to answer. It wasn't exactly something she was proud of, like she expected her first kiss to be. Sharing it with _him_…somehow changed everything.

"Well, who? I really want to know Sango!" Kagome pleaded. Sango shook her head.

"No. It's much too embarrassing, I refuse."

"Oh come on!" Kagome urged. "I wanna know!"

"No," Sango said, "It's too bad, I'm not going to tell you!"

"Come on! I'm already giving you five dollars, what more do you want?" Kagome said desperate, "I'll give you another five! That makes ten dollars Sango. Please?"

Sighing, Sango mumbled. "Fine."

"So who was it?"

"…."

"Sango! You promised."

"Miroku."

Kagome raised her eyebrows. "Really? When? Where? How come I didn't see it!"

Sango shrugged. "It happened fast. It was barely considered a kiss at all. You were busy, I don't know. It was right before we left. That's why I wanted to go home."

Kagome gave out a giggle. "That's sooo cute! He likes you! Oooh, It's so cute I can hardly stand it!"

"No, it's not!" Sango hissed. "It's not cute! I didn't want him to kiss me!"

Kagome frowned. "He's really not that bad Sango-"

"maybe to you," She snapped, "but he didn't kiss you! How would you feel if Inuyasha had done that to _you_?"

Kagome made a face of digust. "yuck."

"He nearly did," Rin said quickly changing the subject.

"No he didn't," Kagome objected, "Inuyasha? He hates me as much as I hate him. He would have never gone through with it."

"I don't know," Sango said thoughtfully, "he looked like he was going to…"

Kagome shook her head. "No, no way." She was more saying it to convince herself than to convince Sango and Rin. She didn't ever want to think about Inuyasha talking her first kiss. As sorry as she felt for Sango, having hers taken by a pervert, it would be much better than having Inuyasha take it.

And yet…

If Inuyasha had decided to be as friendly and kind as he had been a weekend ago…

No.

Never.

_He's never going to change, _Kagome thought scornfully, _I don't know what that asshole was doing…but he wasn't being himself. What a jerk! _

"Kagome? Kagome, did you hear me?" Rin asked, waving her hands in front of Kagome's face.

"Huh?" Kagome said, snapping out of her slight trance, "Sorry, I was thinking."

"About Inuyasha?" Sango cooed.

"No!" She spat, then stopped. "Well, yes. About how much of a jerk he is."

Sango rolled her eyes. "I swear, one day the two of you are going to let go of your stubborn ways and fall for each other."

Kagome's face went completely blank. Blankness changed to confusion. Confusion changed to disgust, and finally disgust to anger. "Never," she replied angrily, "never ever! He is the biggest asshole I know and he does nothing but embarrass me and make me feel like a loser! I hate him! I hate him I hate him I hate him!"

"Ok ok," Sango said, " I was just kidding! Take a joke Kagome!"

Kagome smiled idly, talking deep breaths. "Ok. I think I'm ready for a movie and some popcorn."

* * *

The girls stayed up way into the morning watching movies and eating junk food. Kagome's mother had begged them to get sleep, but to no avail. Even if they tried, it always ended up in fits of hysterical laughter. After watching as many chick flicks as they could find and eating as much food as they could stuff themselves with, even after the party, they lie awake and talked about everything and anything. 

They finally found sleep early, at 4:30 in the morning. Kagome's mother had been nice enough to allow the girls to sleep in until late morning.

They came into the kitchen, bleary eyed and yawning to find her making breakfast.

"Thanks mom," Kagome managed to croak. Her mother tsked her.

"Kagome, don't get sick. It's right before the holidays and this is the time of the year when everyone gets sick. It's also a very important time in your school work and if you have to miss school because you end up with pneumonia, you won't be happy when you get back and have to make up all your work."

Her mother continued, and Kagome just stared blankly at her plate. Sango and Rin simply held back a laugh as her mother droned on and on.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Kagome said groggily, standing up.

She walked outside in her pajamas and slippers and looked around.

No one was there.

She frowned. What the hell?

She looked down at her feet, where a small package sat. It had her name written in an untidy scrawl.

She looked around again, searching for a sign of who could have given it to her. She was reluctant to open it. What could be inside?

She came back in and heard her mother call "who was it, Kagome?"

"Oh, no one. Some guy had the wrong house," Kagome called back, "but I got my slippers all wet, so I'm gonna go run upstairs real quick." For some reason, she didn't want Rin and Sango to see the package. She didn't know what it was, nor did she want to open it in front of them. Somehow, this was special. It was hers, and only hers.

She came back down a minute later.

"Kagome, I've said it a million times and I'll say it again: You're mom is the best cook," Sango said, throwing her head back happily. "I'm full."

"That was very good," Rin agreed, "I'm stuffed."

Shortly afterwards, the girls went back upstairs to Kagome's room. She inwardly cursed as she saw the small package sitting in plain sight on her bed. She wished she had put it someplace special, where no one else could see it. For some reason she felt incredibly selfish about it. Kagome hadn't really had much that she could consider hers- her mother was very particular about making things between her and Souta very equal. So to have this one little, insignificant package sitting on their doorstep addressed to **her**- somehow, that was special.

"What's that?" Rin asked, pointing to the package.

"Uh, nothing," Kagome said reaching for it. "Just something I haven't really opened yet. A present maybe."

"It wasn't there this morning," Sango said, eyeing it suspiciously, "what is it?"

"What are you talking about Sango, of course it was here this morning," Kagome said quickly, making an attempt to shove it in her desk drawer.

"Come on Kagome," Rin teased, "what are you hiding?"

"Nothing! I just," she stopped and looked at her friends bashfully, "I just sort of wanted to open it by myself. You know, it's mine, so…"

"So you wanted it to be secret," Sango waved her hand, "Don't worry about it, Kag."

"You sure?" She asked.

"Yes, we're sure," Sango said with a smile. Then she put her hand on her chin. "Although, you know, I wonder what's in it…"

"Yeah…" Rin said, a curious smile growing on her face, "who's it from?"

"Doesn't say," Kagome shrugged. "it was on the doorstep when I answered the door this morning."

"What if it's a bomb?" Rin said suspiciously.

"I'm pretty sure it would have blown up," Sango said, rolling her eyes.

"It could be any number of things," Kagome said, setting it back down on the bed and looking at it. "I don't know what to do."

"Well don't get rid of it," Sango said, "what if it's something nice? A secret gift from someone?"

"Well you'd certainly think they'd do a better job of giving it to me," Kagome said, "something about packages set in front of people's doors make me think of bombs too."

"See, I wasn't the only one," Rin said, sticking out her tongue.

:"I think we should open it though," Kagome said finally.

"You do?"

"Yeah. I mean, what's the harm? I really highly doubt it's a bomb. The only real enemy I have is Inuyasha…and he's not nearly smart enough to figure out a bomb," Kagome said.

"Are you sure you want to open it?" Rin asked.

"Yeah, you don't have to," Sango assured her, "I mean, if you'd rather open it later."

Kagome shook her head. "No, I think I want to do it now."

With slightly trembling hands, she carefully stripped the package of its masking tape. She unfolded the box slowly, as to savor each passing second with eager anticipation. Finally, she took a deep breath and opened it flat.

There were no explosions.

Instead, there lay a simple object in the box with a folded note beneath it. Mistletoe.

_Could it be? _Kagome thought, bemused, _from the party last night? _She picked it up and examined it.

Rin and Sango said nothing.

Then she picked up the note that remained in the box. Her hands now shaking slightly more than before, she opened the note to read it. She may even figure out who it was that sent it.

There was no name anywhere on the note. Only one, simple sentence, written in the same untidy scrawl:

_**Maybe Next Year. **_

* * *

Yeah, go on and admit you hate me for cutting off there. I'll update again soon, I promise. I've taken a rather small role in the school play this time (unlike last year) and I'll hopefully have more time for my writing :D

Love you all!

Lola


	12. Without Concealer

Hooray, new chapter. The play is over and I'm back to writing. How exciting. I hope you guys like this chapter. It started out as a filler chapter and ended up as a fluff chapter. Mostly a bit of Inuyasha/Kagome and some Rin/Sesshoumaru. I've been having some problems with the Miroku/Sango portion of this fic, but I'll add some in next chapter. Some important things do happen at the end of this chapter though. Some good facts to know about Rin's past.

I love you all!

Hearts!

Lola

* * *

**Chapter 12 – Without Concealer**

"Who do you think sent it?"

Kagome sighed. The girls had spent all of break wondering as to who had sent the mistletoe after the party, but no real obvious individuals came to mind.

"Kagome? Are you listening?" Rin asked as the three girls walked down the hallway after class.

"Yes," She said quietly. "I just really am sick of talking about this. I don't think we're gonna figure out who sent it."

"Kagome has a point," Sango said, "it could have been anyone. It could even be someone who wasn't at the party."

"Or it could be a joke-"

Kagome groaned. The two girls were quiet. They knew the whole thing made their friend uncomfortable, and with good reason.

When the package had first arrived, Kagome, Rin and Sango racked their brains for a good hour trying to figure out exactly who it was that sent it. They named of guests, friends, enemies and everyone in between. Yet none of them seemed likely to send it to her.

Lost in thought, Kagome didn't notice the person in front of her and promptly hit their shoulder. Losing her balance, she fell slightly forward, dropping all her books on the ground. Groaning, she bent down to pick them up in the busy hallway.

"Here, let me help you with those," a voice said.

A boy bent down and swept up her books before Kagome could reach all of them.

"Thanks," she said, grabbing them from his open hands. She looked up to see an unfamiliar face.

He had very striking features- long black hair and beautiful blue eyes. His smile was kind, yet it held slight mischief at the same time.

"I don't believe we've met," he said, helping her up, "I'm Kouga. Are you new here?"

She shook her head. "No, I've always been here. Well, since the district merger. I'm Kagome."

He smiled. "It's nice to meet you Kagome. I can't believe that I've never seen you before. You'd think I would have noticed someone so beautiful."

Kagome blushed at the compliment. "Oh! I'm not-" she began. Kouga just laughed.

"I should probably get going," she said meekly, "I have class."

He smiled again. "I will see you around then. Goodbye, lady Kagome." He waved goodbye and left, keeping Kagome in a trance in the hallway.

* * *

Kagome couldn't help but get Kouga out of her mind for the rest of the day. He was very nice and he intrigued her. He made her nervous and almost scared. His compliments made her smile to herself. No guy had ever called her beautiful before.

"Oi, Wench!"

Kagome was broken from her thoughts by quite an annoying voice.

"I have a name, Inuyasha!" she snapped.

"Yeah, I already said your name about fifty times and you didn't answer," he shot back.

"Well what do you want?" She said, even more irritably. She immediately wanted to take it back when he looked slightly hurt.

"You weren't listening, were you? We're doing partner work again. Guess Ms. Aiosun likes torture. I wouldn't be surprised if she was into masochism," Inuyasha grumbled.

Kagome raised an eyebrow. After seeing how well the groups did in their debates (Kagome and Inuyasha had won) Ms. Aiosun had made them do more and more partner work. It looked as if she and Inuyasha were permanent partners.

"I'm surprised Miss Goody Two Shoes Higurashi wasn't paying attention," Inuyasha said with a smirk.

"I'm surprised you actually understood her directions with that _thick head_ of yours," she snapped back. Then she sighed. "We're not getting ourselves anywhere. Will you please tell what it is we are doing? I'm sorry I was thinking about something other than this class."

Taken aback by her sudden obedience, Inuyasha stammered, "S-sure… we're doing a unit on poetry and have to analyze a set of poems and write some ourselves."

"Great," Kagome said, "I'm awful at writing poetry."

"You're not the only one, "he grumbled.

"So when are we getting these poems?" Kagome asked, twisting a strand of her hair on her pencil. Inuyasha slammed a good sized manila folder on her desk.

"What? Is this it?" She gasped. "I didn't know we'd have this many!"

"What's so hard about it?" Inuyasha asked lazily, "we read it, make up some bullshit excuse for ideas and type it up. It'll be easy."

She glared at him. "Yeah, but you're gonna leave me with the work."

"Did I do that last time? Huh?" Inuyasha objected, "Do you not trust me or something?"

Kagome laughed. "Trust you? Are you serious? This is coming from the person who once put super glue on my desk and got me stuck."

"You're one to talk," Inuyasha said, "I'm not the only one who openly embarrasses people in front of everyone!"

Kagome looked down, obviously feeling guilty. In a quiet voice she said, "Yeah, I'm really sorry about that."

This immediately shut him up. He looked at her quizzically. "You're…sorry?"

"Yeah. It wasn't my attempt to embarrass you. I just…well…" She fumbled with her words, her face turning slightly pink.

"You haven't been kissed yet have you?" Inuyasha said, a small smirk appearing on his face.

"No! I mean, yes, I have! Tons of times!" She quickly tried to cover, but realizing she failed miserably at lying, sighed, "no, I haven't. I've sort of been saving that for when I find someone I really like. I've never really dated either, for similar reasons. It's ok, you can go ahead and laugh."

He shook his head. "No, that's nothing to laugh about. It's your choice and people should respect that. There's nothing wrong with waiting for a certain person." He couldn't believe what was coming out of his own mouth. Yet, somehow he felt much better this way than when he was mean to her. Seeing her so vulnerable definitely took away his dislike for her. Something about her innocence intrigued him- he wanted to know more about the softer side of Kagome Higurashi.

She stared at him, unaware of why he was being so nice to her. Once again, she was seeing that kind, passive side to Inuyasha she had first seen at the library that one Saturday afternoon. It was a side of him Kagome could actually learn to like – if he used it more often. "…Thanks," she said with a hesitant smile, "that really means a lot to hear."

"I used to feel that way," he admitted suddenly, "back in middle school. And then I met this girl, Kikyo…and things changed." He looked at Kagome, so similar to his ex-girlfriend in appearance. She looked at him, expecting him to go on. "What?" He asked, suddenly feeling uncomfortable under her gaze.

"Oh," she said, suddenly blushing and turning away, "n-nothing. I thought you were going to say something else."

"Eh, just that she changed a lot when we dated. She was pretty nice to start off with, when we first started dating. After that she started giving me the cold shoulder a lot. She was manipulative and after awhile I got sick of it. After we broke up, she sort of went a little nuts. She's dated pretty much every guy in the Shinikwa district after that. She's incredibly annoying these days…I don't know what her problem is." He looked up at her and shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to ramble."

"No, it's ok. We all deserve to ramble a little bit," she looked over at Sango who was currently beating on Miroku. "I don't know what I'd do without Sango and Rin."

Inuyasha suddenly remembered Rin, and the conversation he'd had with Sesshoumaru. He bit his lip. Should he tell Kagome? They weren't exactly friends, but she should have the right to know about Rin. Kagome was a caring person, and he know Rin would be better in the long run. On second thought, Sesshoumaru had sworn him to secrecy. If either he or Rin found out he had provoked Kagome's curiosity, he would be as good as dead. He wasn't sure if Kagome was worth all the trouble.

He looked back at her, a simple smile on her face as she read over the first poem in the folder. Her face showed soft expressions as she read on.

"Kagome," he said, barely above a whisper, leaning in closer to her.

She looked up at him, and upon realizing exactly how close their faces were, inched back slightly. She could feel her cheeks reddening. "y-Yes?" she stammered.

"I think you need to talk to Rin," he said in a rather urgent tone. "She needs a bit of help. Don't worry, she's not in any danger, but I don't think anyone in our household can give her the kind of advice that you can."

She looked at him quizzically.

"Inuyasha, what's this about?" she asked cautiously.

He shook his head. "No, don't ask questions. Just see if you can get it out of her. I'm sure she's been wanting to tell you…it's hard to talk about stuff like that."

She nodded without a word. "I will, I promise." She looked down for a moment, then back at him and said sincerely, "Thank you, Inuyasha."

The bell rang and Miroku came over to them. Looking embarrassed, Inuyasha shrugged.

"yeah…whatever. Bye Higurashi."

* * *

"What do you think he meant by it?" Sango asked that night.

Kagome sighed, "I don't know! I really think we need to call her!"

"Do you have Inuyasha's number?" Sango asked.

"…well, yeah…"

"So then call her," Sango urged.

"…."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Kagome said exasperatedly, "I don't feel comfortable! What if he answers? Or Sesshoumaru? Or their mom!"

"Well then let's go pay her a visit," Sango said, "my dad will let me borrow the car for an hour or so. Don't worry. I'll be by to pick you up in a few minutes."

"Are you sure Inuyasha won't mind?" Kagome asked tentatively. She frowned to herself? Did it matter? On any other day she would have burst right into his house, so why did she feel so scared to do it now?

_Probably because of is stupid party_, she thought to herself grimly.

"He'll just have to deal with it," Sango said finally.

* * *

The two girls stood on the front porch, waiting for someone to answer the door. Immediately a made swung open the door and said with a smile, "hello, can I help you?"

"Hi," Kagome said, feeling more nervous than she tried to look, "may we please speak with Rin Makino?"

The woman surveyed them slightly, and then smiled behind her square rimmed glasses. "Of course, come right in," she said. She led them through the front entranceway, then down hallways they'd not explored when they were there at the party. "At first I thought the two of you were here to see master Inuyasha," the woman said with a small laugh.

"Hardly," Kagome mumbled under her breath. Although he had been nice to her again today, she was still unsure how long that would last. It seemed that whenever she was set on her opinion of him, whether it be a jerk or a nice guy, he always seemed to come out and prove her wrong. How ironic.

The woman stopped at a door and knocked gently. "Makino-chan, you have some visitors," she called.

"Thanks Tadako, be there in a second!" they heard Rin call from inside. Seconds later she opened the door in her pajamas, her hair hanging down to her shoulders. She was very surprised to see Kagome and Sango standing there.

"What are you guys doing here?" She asked in amazement.

"We just decided to stop by. Sorry we didn't know the number," Kagome lied.

"Well come on in," Rin said, opening the door. Tadako gave a nod to the girls and walked away.

The girls smiled at Rin's room. She had decorated it nicely. The soft colors were touched up with her own personal flavor in decoration. She had made collages and hung them in her room- a taste neither Sango nor Kagome knew she had.

"Make yourselves comfortable," Rin said, "are you hungry, do you want something to eat? I can go get something if you-"

"Rin," Kagome interrupted, "we really need to talk to you."

She looked at her curiously, "Oh? What about?"

"For awhile now Kagome and I have been a bit worried," Sango said, "and whatever it is has seemed to get a little better now that you're staying here…but we can't help but be worried."

"Please," Kagome said, pain in her eyes, "if there is something wrong, please tell us. We want to help you."

Rin knew this was it. She couldn't keep it from them forever. "There is," she finally confessed, "and I didn't want to tell you…I was afraid if you ever found out, I would lose you as friends." Kagome grabbed on of her hands, Sango the other.

"That's silly," Sango said. "We wouldn't never leave you."

"Yeah? What kind of friends would we be?" Kagome said.

Rin gave a weak smile. "Thanks guys." She took a deep breath. "I need to show you something." She stood from where she had been sitting on her bed and went to the dresser drawer (It had become a sort of traditional hiding place for her) and took out the picture of her family. "This was my family," she said. "I used to live about a block away from this house. I grew up here in this district with my mom and dad and twin brothers. When they died, the closest relative was my uncle. He lived in the Kaisun district and was the most likely choice. He was mad with grief when my mother died. She was his best friend. He just sort of lost it. He drank a lot and…" she stopped, her throat tightening. She struggled to get the words out, "he hit me…for a long time. A few weeks ago I ran away. Well, more so he kicked me out. I ran and ran and passed out someplace. When I woke up, I was here. Sesshoumaru rescued me and I've been here ever since. My uncle hasn't come looking for me and I haven't attempted to go back."

The three girls were silent. Rin had tears in her eyes. It was obviously an open wound that still stung with grief. Kagome and Sango huddled around her and hugged her tightly.

"Rin…I'm so sorry," Kagome whispered, "I'm so sorry I didn't know. I would have helped you…I would have."

Rin shook her head. "There's nothing you could have done." She dried her eyes. "Besides I'm happy now."

"You can tell," Sango said with a warm smile.

'I may have been wrong about this family,' Kagome thought to herself, 'If Sesshoumaru is capable of that kind of kindness, perhaps Inuyasha can't be all that bad…'

"You guys should get going," Rin said, looking at the clock on her wall. "It's nearly 10:00."

Sango winced. "Dad's gonna kill me. He wasn't expecting me to be back this late."

The three said their goodbyes, and Rin was left alone in her room. She felt at ease to have finally told her friends about the trouble she had been through, but something still bothered her. She had ripped open a painful memory of her family, and the guilt she felt about there deaths. Silent streams of tears began to run down her cheeks as she thought about it.

There was a sudden knock at her door and she barely mumbled "come in!" before whipping her tears.

"Rin, did some of your-" Sesshoumaru stopped as he saw her. "You're crying," he observed, staring at her without emotion.

She shook her head. "No, no I'm not! Really I'm not!" She lied, putting a smile on her face.

"You can't always hide these things Rin," he said softly, shutting the door.

With that, she began to cry again. Not silently, anymore, but real genuine tears of pain and hurt.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sitting on the bed beside her.

"It's my fault," she wailed, "i-it's my fault they died!"

"Who?"

"My family," she said, her body racking with sobs. The young man took the crying girl in his arms.

"No it isn't Rin," he said in the same soothing voice, trying to calm her, "no one controls death like that."

"yes, yes it is. I was s-sick," she stuttered between sobs, "I had the flu and they went to the store to get me medicine. If I had only been healthy. Why did I have to go play outside? I should have stayed out of the rain, like mom said. If I had just been healthy, they wouldn't have died on the way to the store."

"Did he tell you that?" Sesshoumaru asked her.

She didn't answer, only wailed even more. He hushed her and stroked her hair as she cried.

"Rin, look at me," he demanded softly. She did so, her eyes red from crying. "It was not your fault they died. Your mom and dad would be very proud of you. You're a strong girl with the most enthusiasm I've seen in my life. Please know that it's not your burden to bear." She felt very weak under the gaze of his eyes, so knowing and mysterious. All she could do was nod.

For a split moment, he smiled at her. "Good," he said, "now go to sleep." She wriggled herself out of his arms and nodded again. They were still a bit red from crying, but he could see a bit of vivacity return to her honey brown eyes.

"Goodnight Rin," he said, standing to leave as she crawled under the covers.

"Sesshoumaru?" She squeaked from beneath the covers.

"Yes Rin?"

"Thank you."

He looked down at her as he flicked the light switch off. "No," he said, barely audible, "thank you." He shut the door softly and walked the hallway back to his room.

He had many a reason to thank Rin. For her smile, bright outlook and kind attempts to help him, knowing he too was in need. What she had given him most was desire to live- something he hadn't done in quite awhile.

He found it funny how raw and unprotected he felt around this girl. Something about her optimism stripped him off his sheltering cold exterior and left him open and feeling vulnerable. And although he felt most uncomfortable in the moment, every time he left the room, he couldn't help but smile to himself and think that it was a good thing. A very good thing.

* * *

I hope you all liked it. Don't forget to review! (and I really would like some suggestions/comments/criticism) Thanks so much to everyone! I'm sorry it's been so long!

Lots of love!


	13. Defenses

**Disclaimer: I don't own it, so don't sue. **

So yeah, this chapter is so incredibly pointless. When I was writing it, I realized – I'm coming relatively close to the end of this fic. I had no idea it was coming so soon. But don't worry, they'll be a few more good chapters in here before it's over. We'll get at least to 16 chapters, if not 17. Hopefully.

Thanks so much for the reviews, and I must say, some of you are reading my mind. I know Inuyasha has been a little out of character lately (being nice to Kagome) but don't worry, he goes back to being a jerk in this chapter. (haha)

As for Sango and Miroku, they'll be getting a little attention the next for chapters, so look for it.

Sesshoumaru has also been a little OOC lately, and you'll find out why.

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 13 – Defenses**

* * *

January seemed to flash by as a blur for Kagome and soon whispers of Valentine's day made their way into the high school's halls.

"I hate valentine's day," she grumbled, seeing signs of pink and red hearts all around the cafeteria.

"Tell me about it," Sango said, rubbing her eyes, "it seems to be all anyone talks about – which girl is giving chocolate to which guy and if she has even the slightest chance."

"Let me tell you, I'm giving absolutely no chocolate," Kagome said flatly, "hell, I'll buy a bunch and eat it myself."

"Sounds like a good time," Sango joked, "want to have a party?"

"Oh have a little faith," Rin said cheerfully, "I'm bringing chocolate for everyone."

"Everyone?"

"Not _everyone_ everyone," she said, "just the people I know well."

"Figures," both Kagome and Sango said simultaneously.

"Although," Rin said thoughtfully, "I feel like I should do something special for Sesshoumaru-sama…he's done so much for me and I've yet to repay him in anyway." She sighed and frowned. "He deserves much more than I can offer."

Sango looked at Rin and then to Kagome. She grinned and said, "Kagome…I think Rin is hiding some feelings for a certain Junior, don't you?"

"I am **not**!" Rin squeaked suddenly, her face instantly turning red.

"You know, I think you're right," Kagome said, smiling as she watched her friend's cheeks turn the color of brick.

"No really," Rin insisted earnestly, trying to hide her fluster, "he's just really done a lot for me and I could never think of him more than-"

"Rin, I don't think it's us you're trying to convince," Sango said softly, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "It's ok Rin, you can't control that stuff."

Rin moaned and put her head down on the lunch table. "Agh, you're right! This isn't fair- I don't want to like him!"

"Why not? He seems like a nice guy," Kagome asked.

"He is," Rin agreed, "but-"

"But what?"

"He's the most detached person I've ever met in my entire life. He doesn't spend any time with anyone…he's in his room all the time. And he's so cold and the more I see him that way the more _I _want to help _him_! And then I'm thinking about him all the time, making up little scenarios in my head where I can actually have the courage to tell him and," she sighed, "It's not any use. Nothing between Sesshoumaru-sama and I could ever work out."

"Why's that?" Sango asked.

"Because he sees me as a child," Rin said, playing with her chopsticks.

"Well then don't let him," Kagome said suddenly.

"What do you mean by that?" Rin asked cautiously. Sango too looked confused.

You're not a little girl. Rin- you're 16 and a woman. He may be a year older-"

"And several inches taller," Sango added.

"Yeah, that too. But that doesn't matter- if you really like him, go for it. Don't stop thinking it's a possibility because of something like that. That's all in your head, trust me."

"Kag's right," Sango said with a nod, "where's you're characteristic optimism?"

"It disappeared," Rin said with a sigh, "along with my appetite."

* * *

"How many times must I say this?" Sango asked, slightly irritated, "it doesn't need to rhyme. We just need to write a few poems about the same thing." She was beginning to get a headache.

Miroku blinked, "But Sango, I don't know how to write poetry without rhyme. I don't have a muse for inspiration." He lifted his hand from his desk and began to play with her dark hair.

"Stop it," she hissed, pushing his hand away. "Don't you dare touch me, Miroku."

Miroku looked saddened for a moment, "You're still mad, aren't you?"

Her eyes narrowed, "what makes you think I would ever forgive you?"

These words stung at his heart like pricks of needles to the skin. He lowered his head and spoke softly, so none but Sango could hear, "I don't regret what I did that night…but I regret hurting you with all my heart."

"Well then maybe you should have thought about it before doing it," she whispered harshly, looking suddenly close to tears.

"Sango, I-"

"Forget it," she said tersely, "let's just get to work. What are we writing about?"

Miroku said nothing. He stared at his hands, which sat quietly on the desk. Oh the trouble they caused.

"You know, I can't do this without your help," she said rubbing her eyes.

"Seems like you can't do it _with_ my help either," he said quite hopelessly and walked away.

Sango groaned as she watched Miroku stalk out of the classroom. She put her head in her hands and wondered exactly what she had gotten herself into. Her head was pounding. With a sigh she picked up her pencil and began to write.

* * *

"Miss Kagome, that looks like an awfully large load you're caring," a voice called as Kagome made her way out the door of her last class. "Would you like help carrying those books?"

"I'm fine Kouga, but thank you for the offer," Kagome said listlessly. It had been a good two weeks that the boy had been offering to carry her books for her.

"But since you're my woman, I figured I should do my part and help you out," he said, reaching for the books in her hand.

She whirled around to look him in the eye. "Kouga, I am not, nor will I be, your 'woman'. I am an independent 16-year-old sophomore who can handle herself. Now, I would appreciate it if you would please just…I don't know, offer to someone else?"

"Ah but Kagome," he said, with a small grin, "I cannot, for you are my master- you have enslaved my heart."

She groaned inwardly – what was the matter with this guy? Couldn't he take a hint.

"Look Kouga," She said with a sigh, "this isn't going to work out. I really need to concentrate on things and I hate to say this, but I need my space. This has caused a lot of problems."

_**Flashback**_

"_**So what do you think the poem is about?" Kagome asked, looking at it. **_

"_**Sex, obviously," Inuyasha said, "can't you see that." **_

"_**It is not! It's about depression and sadness! What in the world would make you think it's about sex?" Kagome asked irritably. Analyzing poems with Inuyasha Taisho was not on the top of her "Fun Things to Do" list. **_

"**_Oh come on. '_**Night brings it's wetness to beaches in your soul**_'? How is that not about sex?" He asked her. _**

"_**Night is darkness, representing the depression in one's life. 'It's Wetness' would be the despair, and the 'beaches' is the emotion and mood a person is in," Kagome said, rolling her eyes, "are all boys this dirty minded?"**_

"_**I don't know, are all girls as ugly as you?" He shot back. **_

"_**God, what is your problem?" She snapped. "Do you have to argue with everything I say?" **_

"_**Do you have to be such an idiot?" **_

"_**Oh look who's talking! You thought Octavio Paz was writing about sex!" **_

"_**Actually, he did write about sex," Miroku said thoughtfully, stopping at their desks, "have you ever read 'Touch'?" **_

"_**Not now Miroku!" Both Kagome and Inuyasha yelled in unison.**_

"_**Seriously, why are you being such an ass today?" Kagome asked irritably. **_

"_**I don't know, why do you associate yourselves with people like Kouga? That kid is an idiot." **_

_**Kagome rolled her eyes, "I don't 'associate' myself with him- I'm sorry if he asked if he could carry my books! There really isn't much I can do about it, other than tell him to piss off, which you managed to the first day he tried." **_

"_**Maybe you should try it then," he said, "unless you're that desperate for attention." **_

"_**I am not desperate for attention! You just have some sort of ego problem!" She was nearly yelling now. It had been enough to attract nearly half the class' attention. "Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to go throw up in the bathroom. Talking to you makes me sick." **_

"_**Good," Inuyasha called back as she walked away, "maybe I can stop feeling nauseous now- looking at your face makes me sick." **_

_**End Flashback**_

Kagome sighed to herself. Her grade would be as good as dead in that class unless she and Inuyasha shaped up. Lately, he had been skipping class, or not doing any of the work during the hour. '_Why does he have to be so stubborn?' she thought to herself irritably, 'it's not like any of this affects him at all! Kouga is my problem, unfortunately. Why was he so defensive over a guy like Kouga? I would never date a guy like that…and why would Inuyasha care?_'

Kagome looked over her shoulder, hoping that Kouga was gone. Thankfully he was. How in the world was she going to get rid of him?

* * *

When at last the 14th rolled around, Kagome awoke knowing the day would be bad. She grumbled as she got out of bed.

Souta burst through her door and yelled, "Sis, come downstairs! Mom made a special valentines day breakfast!" She said nothing, but rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned. Souta looked to a pile of newly purchased bag of chocolates next to his sister's bed.

"Who are you giving your chocolate to?"

She glared at him in a way that said I'm-not-in-the-mood. He squeaked and ran out of the room. She made her way downstairs to find her mother humming lightly as she made breakfast.

"Are those pancakes?" Kagome asked, surprised.

"Oh, good morning dear," she kissed her daughter's forehead, "and yes they are pancakes. Some are plain and there's also a stack of chocolate chip."

"Wow, Souta wasn't kidding," Kagome said, cheering slightly, "you did go overboard."

"Well I figured it's Valentine's Day," she said, "and with al the chocolate you bought, you'll have boys calling at all hours."

"Oh, I'm not giving them to anyone," she interrupted proudly, "Sango and I are going to eat them. Rather than hoping for a guy to notice us, then wallow in self pity for a month, we decided to celebrate our independence day."

"Your what?" Her mother asked impassively.

"Our independence day- we're celebrating being single."

"I don't know Kagome," her mother said thoughtfully, "it wouldn't' hurt to give a little bit away. That's how I met your father, you know."

'_Oh god, not this again_,' Kagome thought with a roll of her eyes. "I know…"

"There must be _some_ boy at school you take a fancy to," her mother said.

A picture of Inuyasha sped through Kagome's mind. She frowned. "No, I can't think of a one."

"Oh pish-posh," her grandfather said as he walked in the room, "if I know my Kagome, they're **all** crazy for you." He winked. "That's how your mother was."

Kagome's mother laughed and said, "oh dad, you know _that's_ not true."

"Yes it was! There were boys all about the house!"

"No there weren't-"

The two began to argue their cases, and they hardly noticed Kagome slip out of the room, shaking her head.

* * *

An alarm clock gave it's defiant ring. Inuyasha's hand reached out from under the covers, grabbed it, and threw it against the wall. It gave a few sparks before the sound died down completely. He let out a few curse words and sat up in bed.

That was the third alarm clock he had broken that week. And it was only Wednesday.

He got out of bed and headed for the shower. Halfway through his 2nd repeat of conditioner, he remembered what day it was. Valentine's day. He smirked at the thought – how much chocolate was he going to get this year?

He and Miroku had a bet going this year, to see who would get the most chocolate. Usually, they were close every year. Most often, it was the same girls year after year, all the way from middle school. But now that the high school was integrated from the two districts there would be more girls and more chocolate. After school, he and Miroku would count all their chocolate, declare a winner, and eat it.

A tradition since childhood.

His smirk continued as he made his way downstairs to breakfast. He went into the kitchen, still smiling. Today would be a great day.

"Good morning Master Inuyasha," one of the maids, Tadako said, handing him a plate of food, "you're looking unusually chipper this morning."

"Today is Valentine's day," he reported. "I love valentine's day. It's an excuse to eat as much chocolate as I want, while still _celebrating_ the fact that I'm single."

Rin, who sat quietly on the far end of the kitchen suddenly choked on her orange juice.

Inuyasha turned to look at her, it was the first time he had actually noticed her there.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said, "I've just been hearing that all week." She handed him a small bag of chocolate.

He raised an eyebrow. "What's this for?" She shrugged.

"I dunno. I'm giving everyone chocolate," she said with a laugh, "you're being unusually nice to Kagome lately…so I figured I'd give you a bag."

Inuyasha shrugged off the comment with one of his own, "thanks…now I see why Sesshoumaru keeps you around." She turned a slight shade of pink and walked away.

"Must you always share your rude tendencies with everyone?" Sesshoumaru drawled as he made his way into the kitchen.

"Must you always be such a jackass?" Inuyasha shot back.

"You idiot," Sesshoumaru said, shaking his head.

Inuyasha stood from his chair, "What was that?"

"Boys!" Tadako barked suddenly, "can we get through a single morning without this? You're father won't be happy to hear it when he returns."

"Where'd he go now?" Inuyasha asked her.

"Belize."

"Oh fuck this," Inuyasha said, shaking his head, "I'm going to school." They could hear the door slam all the way from the kitchen.

He drove unusually fast to school that day. The sooner he got there, the sooner he could get his mind off of stupid Sesshoumaru and his stupid father and concentrate on more important things – like being worshipped by a bunch of girls.

Miroku met him at the doors. "Good morning," he said cheerfully. Inuyasha growled slightly. Miroku frowned, "What's that for?"

A girl walked by, placing a small bag of chocolate in both there hands, then quickly running away. The boys looked at each other, and Inuyasha's frown quickly changed to a grin. "Let the game's begin."

* * *

In case you were wondering, the poem Inuyasha and Kagome are arguing about is Octavio Paz's "Water Night" (good text- and no, it's not about sex. Eric Whitacre made a choral arrangement of the song, and half the class thought it was about sex. Look up the text sometime and decide for yourself)

The next chapter should be interesting. I'll give you a hint

**A little action from Kikyo (it's been awhile since she's stuck her head in)**

**And a little Valentine's day fun in English class**

**A sight into the chaos of the Taisho Family**

Thanks so much for reading! (Don't forget to review!)


	14. Betrayals of the Heart

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

This is a good chapter. Pretty amusing for the most part. Lots of interesting explanations and up comings. I almost hate to make Kikyo the bad guy in this fic (isn't she always an antagonist) but I'm really sick of Naraku, and had nowhere to put him in this fic (I'm still looking for a place for him) so there will be some foul play in the future.

Enjoy it :)

**Chapter 14- Betrayals of the Heart**

* * *

Inuyasha's day seemingly got better and better as they day went on. "That's one more for me," he said smugly, waving the bag of candies in front of Miroku.

He rolled his eyes. "Are you _that_ desperate for attention?" He asked him simply. "I'm only two behind you. And that can be solved easily."

"Whatever," Inuyasha said with a confident smirk, "I'm going to win this bet, you watch."

"Hey there Inuyasha," a voice whispered in his ear. He frowned and turned around, knowing exactly who it was.

It was Kikyo looking as sultry as ever. He could swear, the girl could go back and forth between sex idol and innocence annoying as ever. "What do you want Kikyo?" He asked tersely, continuing to walk down the hallway.

"I wanted to give you this," She said, handing him not only a large box of chocolates, but a small stuffed animal, "and wish you a happy valentine's day." She latched onto his arm, bringing her body as close to his as possible. "What do you say we…I don't know…hook up?"

"No thanks Kikyo," he said, "I'm not interested."

"Aww," she pouted, her lips pursed, "I'm not good enough for you Inu?"

He glared at her. "No, Kikyo," he said heatedly, "you never were. After what you did, it's hard to think of you as a person."

He walked off, dragging the bewildered Miroku behind him.

Kikyo glared at his figure walking away down the hallway. So that's how she played it. She'd get back at him, she vowed, she's hurt him well.

* * *

Despite her attempts to make the best out of Valentine's day, Kagome ended up with a headache by the end of the day. It only seemed to get worse and worse as people kept asking her why in the world she wasn't giving out chocolate.

"You'll never get a boyfriend that way," a girl, Yuri, had told her.

"I'm telling you Sango, the next person that asks is going to get slapped," Kagome growled, "I'm sick of people telling me that I'm never going to get a boyfriend that way. I don't want a boyfriend!"

Sango nodded sympathetically. Once Kagome was close to tangent, there was no pulling her back. "At least your first kiss is still intact," She said glumly. "I don't even want to talk to Miroku."

"Maybe this will cheer you both up?" Rin suggested, handing both of them a small box of chocolate.

"Rin, you're crazy," Kagome said, smiling at the gift, "how in the world do you afford this?"

"Well technically, I work for Sesshoumaru-sama," she explained, "I do earn my keep there, so I get a salary. It's ridiculous how nice they are to me."

"No, you deserve it," Sango said as they entered the classroom. She groaned when she saw the room – it was completely decorated in red and pink- there were hearts and valentine's day decorations everywhere.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Kagome muttered as she put her things on her desk, "Has Aiosun sensei lost her mind?"

"Good afternoon class!" She said happily as she entered the room, dressed in red, a pink scarf tied around her neck.

The class was stunned – Ms. Aiosun was a strictly black and white person it seemed – where was this coming from?

"Happy Valentine's day to everyone! I'm sure you noticed the little bit of decoration I used for the room," she said cheerfully.

That was a major understatement.

"Now, I really don't feel like pushing you too hard, since it's Valentine's Day and all, so I decided to be nice and easy for a change. If anyone wants extra credit, they may read of the poems they've been writing recently."

Sango perked up to this. She would definitely enjoy reading the one she had written last night in a flourish. It was about the four seasons, with use of major personification. She was very proud of it and couldn't wait to hear what Ms. Aiosun had to say.

"And of course," Ms. Aiosun continued, "since it's Valentine's Day, I want you to read a poem you have about love or affection."

'Dammit!' Sango cursed inwardly. She had really been looking forward to hearing Ms. Aiosun's approval of her work – and now she would have no such opportunity. She had not written any poems about love. And now the entire class period (or some of it at least) would be spent with people reading soggy poetry dripping with sugar coated lies of love.

Oh how she despised it.

"So who wants to start?" Ms. Aiosun asked.

A plethora of girls began to squeal and raise their hands. One by one, they stood up and shakily read their angsty teenage confession of love (or what they thought it was), or odes to boys who would never notice them.

Both Sango and Kagome looked at each other, sickened expression on their faces.

"Anyone else?" Ms. Aiosun said almost tiredly as the last girl finished.

"I would like to read mine, Ms. Aiosun," Miroku said, raising his hand.

Sango turned to look at Miroku, surprised. She doubted her partner could have written anything of relative quality, seeing that every time they worked together he complained about how he could find a word to rhyme with "that".

"Alright Miroku," She said, "we're ready."

He cleared his throat and softly read,

"_The summer's sweet scented wind caresses her hair, slowly waving, weightless._

_I move in closer and smell her sweet perfume, the scent of roses on a calm summers day._

_My hand reches her's and they embrace, clinging to that last glimps of hope, of the life that may be, could be, and should be._

_I reach my hand for her face, smooth to the touch, soft and gentle, like the gentle fall of a leaf from its former perch towards the ground._

_Her eyes slowly reach mine and the light within them, so bright at full of life, is lost to a cold sorrow_

_And she falls and fades away, tears fall from my eyes, a weep of sorrow is loosed from my lips as she passes from this existance,_

_And I am left alone and cold, in a hard rain, not letting me go with her, and freezing me to this world,_

_A world of pain and suffering, to live alone, and to die alone._"

The class sat in utter silence drinking in what they had just heard. Miroku wasn't exactly a person who displayed himself as such a deep, intelligent person.

A small clap began, staggered, but soon the whole class was hoping and hollering. Even Sango had to clap at the unexpected display of great talent.

"And where did that come from?" Ms. Aiosun asked unexpectedly, "and why didn't we know you were so talented?"

"Sometimes all it takes is a little inspiration," Miroku said with a shrug. He glanced at Sango, and when he met her eyes, quickly looked away. Sango could feel her cheeks tinge slightly when she realized it was her he was talking about.

Suddenly she felt as if her spectrum on things had changed. Just when she had thought she had seen exactly the person Miroku was, he had become someone completely different. She now understood how Kagome's conscious conflicted over Inuyasha's complex personality, and somehow, she couldn't hate Miroku as much as she had five minutes earlier.

After that point Ms. Aiosun lost all focus on work and decided to call her husband to ensure that they would go out for dinner that evening. The rest of the hour was spent talking.

"113 bags, Miroku. What've you got?" Inuyasha said proudly.

"I have 113 as well," Miroku said confidently, with a smirk.

"You lie!" Inuyasha said, narrowing his eyes, running his eyes over Miroku's bags, sorted into groups of tens as directed. "You only have 112."

"Not anymore," Sango said carelessly, throwing a bag in Miroku's pile. She had begun eating what Rin had given her, only to discover the majority of the pieces had nuts, which Sango was unfortunately allergic to. So having eaten all the nut-less pieces, she figured helping Miroku out wouldn't be too awful.

His face lit up as he said happily, "we're even, we're even!" Then he turned to Sango and said very seriously, "Sango, I appreciate this great gift." Then he smiled largely, "I didn't know you cared! A beautiful girl loves me! Hoorah!"

Sango blushed and immediately countered, "no, no! It's not anything like that…I just don't like nuts is all. I didn't mean that-"

She was fortunately saved by the bell, and the class began to file out of the room. Kagome shrugged at her and they made their way out the classroom.

Kagome groaned when she saw who it was that was waiting outside the doors for her.

"What are **_you _**doing here?" Inuyasha spat rudely before Kagome could even open her mouth.

Kouga glared at him and then said defiantly, "I'm here to thank Kagome."

"For **_what?_**" Both Inuyasha and Kagome said simultaneously.

"The small bag of candy I found in my locker today," he said, holding it up. It clearly was written "To Kouga, From Kagome" in nicely written handwriting. But a handwriting that was certainly not Kagome's.

"You liar!" She shrieked. "I did no such thing! How could you even say something like that? Nearly everyone in this school knows how much I hate Valentine's day!" She turned to Inuyasha, "even _you_ believe me…don't you?"

He said nothing, but looked at her with a face she could only describe as disgust. And for some reason, she couldn't bear it. The proud Kagome Higurashi was torn to pieces by this one look, and she could not say why it was that Inuyasha Taisho effected her so much. "Inuyasha, please believe me!" She could not pinpoint why it mattered so much – but she could not bear to see him look at her that way.

He just shook his head as he pushed past her, a confused Miroku running after him in an attempt to calm his friend down.

"You are awful!" Kagome cried, running past Kouga, who looked at her in confusion.

"That was really shallow," Sango said quietly, "I understand that you like Kagome and all…but that was too far."

"But I didn't-" he began. Sango wasn't listening, instead she was too busy chasing Kagome down the crowded hallway, yelling for her to wait up.

* * *

Kagome slipped through the hallway, leaving Sango's calls behind her. She didn't want to talk to anyone right now – she just wanted to think. She pushed her way through oppositely moving traffic up the stairs to the second level. She walked the empty hallway all the way to the bathroom. Perhaps in there she could think without being disturbed.

But when she got there, she wasn't alone. She met the gaze to a face very similar to hers. At first, she thought she was looking at her own reflection come to life.

"You must me Kagome Higurashi," she drawled lazily, going back to her eyeliner in the mirror.

"Hi…I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've met before," Kagome said politely. The girl stopped putting on eyeliner (she had far too much on already) and put the cover back on.

"My name is Kikyo Kokame. You'll do well to remember that," She said, rather coldly.

Kagome could see now why she had hurt Inuyasha so much. If she had changed as much as he said, she was probably a much nicer person in a much earlier time. Kikyo neared her, almost too close for Kagome's personal comfort.

"You'll also do well to remember to stay away from Inuyasha Taisho," she said in a dangerously threatening tone, "you'll have to deal with situations much worse than the one with Kouga today if you don't." She then smiled, "Do I make myself clear?"

Kagome could not bring herself to speak, only nod meekly.

Kikyo surveyed her slightly and said, "I can see why they say you look so much like what I used to. It makes sense that Inuyasha feels so strongly about you."

"What are you talking about?" Kagome cried out, nearly laughing, "Inuyasha and I _hate_ each other! Unless the strong feelings you're talking about are of hate, you have the wrong person."

Kikyo gave another cruel smile. Kagome felt like a toy when she did that. It was not a comfortable feeling. "Oh, I'm very sure of myself. Have a nice day Ms. Higurashi…and heed my warning."

With that, she left the bathroom, leaving Kagome shaking nervously.

* * *

A Knock.

"Come in," Sesshoumaru said lazily as he sat at his desk. The sooner he finished his Chemistry homework the better. Today had exhausted him, which was very unusual. For once he felt like sleeping.

Rin peeked her head through the door. "Good evening."

"Rin, you can come in the room," he said, still concentrating on naming the current aqueous solution on his assignment.

"I wanted to wish you a happy valentine's day," She said quite cheerfully, clad in polka-dotted pajamas. She placed a large box of chocolates on the desk next to him.

"Thank you Rin," He said, not looking at her, "they're very nice."

"Sesshoumaru-san, have you ever had a girlfriend?" She asked before she could stop herself. She immediately covered her mouth, upon saying it.

"That's none of your business," he said coldly, still concentrating on the problem in the page. The more he looked at it, the less he had to look at her.

"Sorry," she mumbled, "that just came out. I didn't mean to say it outloud. I'm going now."

She turned to leave and Sesshoumaru was rushed with sudden impulse. Instead of acting on it immediately, he calmly asked, "Why is it you want to know?" This was why she amused him so.

She shrugged. "I dunno…you just don't really seem like the, you know, dating type."

"And you are correct," he said tersely, "anything else?"

She shook her head. "No. I just figured…well, it wouldn't hurt to get out there once in awhile. To meet or date people. It's not a bad thing you know."

She could feel his cold, calculating eyes looking at her in deep thought. She was incredibly curious to know what it was she was thinking.

Finally he said, "Goodnight Rin," and turned back to his homework.

She sighed and replied, "goodnight," and left.

She let out a deep sigh as she closed the door and stood motionless in the hallway.

"Don't bother with pep talks," Tadako said amusingly, coming around the corner, "you won't a word in with him. The boy's like a block of ice."

"I noticed," Rin said glumly.

"Come on, lets go back to your room and have a chat," Tadako said. Rin sat on her bed eager to hear what Tadako had to say.

"What I'm about to tell you is very serious and very secret," Tadako said quietly, "this doesn't leave this room, ok?"

Rin nodded.

Tadako sighed and began, "I've been working here for a long time. Fifteen years in fact, in this very same house. I knew one of Mr. Taisho's cooks and ended up getting a job as maid at age 20. Haven't left since. Through those 15 years, I've seen a lot of drama. First off, the relationship between Master Taisho and his first wife was not a pleasant one. It was an arranged marriage between his father and his greatest business partner, to ensure that money stayed between the to families. In any case, they certainly didn't love each other. Their first son Sesshoumaru was born before I got here- he was only two when I began working here. As there marriage deteriorated, it seemed Sesshoumaru suffered because of it. He was often neglected to the point of raising himself, and at a very young age. I looked after him myself at times."

Rumors began to spread around, that my friend and mentor Izayoi, the cook, was having some sort of torrid affair with Master Taisho – I refused to believe them. After all, she was one of my closest friends, surely she'd tell me? Over time, it was clear that the rumors were true – and Sayuki, Sesshoumaru's mother, simply wouldn't stand for it. The marriage was annulled and she left. Didn't even say goodbye to her son, just simply left. She gave all rights of parenthood to Master Taisho and disappeared. I think this more than anything affected Sesshoumaru…he refused to trust anyone throughout childhood and beyond. Still today, he has problems relying on anyone but himself. That cold exterior you see doesn't mean he doesn't like you – it's his way of ensuring himself that you like him enough to stay away from him. The less relationships, the better."

"And what happened to Izayoi?" Rin asked.

Tadako smiled. "Izayoi," she said, "Is Inuyasha's mother."

Rin nodded in understanding, slowly calculating things. "This probably has something to do with Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's rivalry?"

"Naturally," Tadako replied, "Sesshoumaru was threatened by Inuyasha. Now that his mother was gone and a new baby was in the house, he was even more desperate for attention. And as much as Izayoi tried to get to know him, he pushed her away. Poor child was so vulnerable."

Rin sighed, "I wish there was something I could do."

"you've done quite a bit," Tadako said, "you've helped him more than you know."

"how so?" she asked curiously.

"Sesshoumaru has problems he doesn't exactly like to admit. Everyone but his father knows about the little night walks he takes."

"night walks?" Rin asked.

"He's a bit of an insomniac…the staff has seen him take walks around the block at ridiculous hours. Naturally, that's when he found you. But he's been taking them less and less since you've been living here."

"Maybe he doesn't want to find any other girls in need of help passed out someplace," Rin suggested with a laugh.

"Don't sell yourself short kid," Tadako said, standing, "you've done him more good than you think. Just keep working at it. Who knows. He'll break through his shell sometime."

Tadako turned off the light ask Rin climbed into bed. She went to sleep that night feeling as if, for once in her life, she had made a difference. And that was a very good feeling.

* * *

So yeah, like I said. This chapter was unusually long (I didn't plan for certain things to take up so much room, but I guess that's the way thing work. Oh, and so you know, Miroku's poem was not written by me. My good friend Alan wrote that one night. Doesn't he have a way with words? (if notslightly "emo"?) I love him anyway though.

I just noticed as I was updating- this is the valentine's day chapter, and it's chapter 14. 14? Like February 14th? Ok, not very funny...

Next chapter will be up shortly. ; )

Lots of love!

Remember to email/review with comments questions and suggestions. I am _**ALWAYS**_ willing to take them!


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